¥    T    T  /"I  HT  HP 

ju  L/  .1  iJ  i.  1 


DELIGHTFUL    DODD 


By  the  same  author 

THE   SPOILSMEN 

BY 

ELLIOTT  FLOWER 


One  vol.,  library  izmo,  cloth,  $1.50 


Published  by 
L.   C.    PAGE    &    COMPANY 

New  England  Building 
Boston,  Mass. 


DELIGHTFUL 


By    ELLIOTT    FLOWER 

AUTHOR    OF    "THE    SPOILSMEN,"    ETC. 


FRANK    T.     MERRILL 


Boston    +    L.    C.PAGE 
&    COMPANY    <&    Mcmii) 


& 


-P 


Copyright,  2904 
BY  L.  C.  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 


All  rights  reserved 


Published  October,  1904 


COLONIAL    PRESS 

Eltctrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simondi  &  Co. 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  READY  AND  RESOURCEFUL           .        .        .  i 

II.  A  "PECULIAR"  MAN 10 

III.  THE  JOY  OF  PROBLEMS         ....  19 

IV.  A  NEW  MEASURE  OF  VALUE       ...  29 
V.  LEONARD  AND  THE  BEE        ....  40 

VI.  RETURNING  AND  DEPARTING  GUESTS  .        .  49 

VII.  AT  TERRACE  COTTAGE 58 

VIII.  "DODD'S  GERMANIA" 71 

IX.  THE  UNLICENSED  BARBER    ....  82 

X.  THE  SERMON  AND  THE  WHISTLE         .        .  94 

XI.  THREE  LETTERS 107 

XII.  LEONARD  GOES  INTO  TRAINING   .        .        .120 

XIII.  A  GENERAL  MISUNDERSTANDING  .        .        .  133 

XIV.  THE  PROWESS  OF  ACKERMAN       .        .        .  144 
XV.  DODD  DISCUSSES  WOMAN     .        .        .        .159 

XVI.  A  FAVOUR  FOR  A  NEIGHBOUR      .        .        .  169 

XVII.  THE  SHETLAND  PONY  FARM        .        .        .181 

XVIII.  THE  CASE  OF  DODD  vs.  WAKELEY     .        .  192 

XIX.  DODD  AND  THE  INDIANS       ....  209 

XX.  DODD  Is  ANNOYED 219 

XXI.  A  TIP  FROM  DAKE  WAKELEY      .        .        .231 

XXII.  Miss  MARSDEN'S  ADVENTURE       .        .        .  247 

XXIII.  THE  FIGHT  AT  THE  COTTAGE      .        .        .  262 

XXIV.  THE  RESULT  OF  THE  FIGHT         .        .        .  270 
XXV.  SOME  TROUBLESOME  POINTS         .        .        .  280 

XXVI.  DODD'S  PARTING  DISSERTATION  .        .        .  287 


FULL -  PAGE 
ILLUSTRATIONS 

AS     FOLLOWS  : 


PAGE 


DANIEL  DODD  ....  Frontispiece 
"  LEONARD  RECEIVED  HIS  FIRST  UN  - 

LICENSED  MICHIGAN  SHAVE"  .  .  92 
"'  IF  A  MAN  MOVES,  I'LL  BREAK  THIS 

FELLER'S  NECK ! '"  .  .  .  1 54 

DAKE  WAKELEY  .  .  «  .  .194 

* 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  are  a  number  of 
minor  sketches  throughout  the  text  and  on  the  end 
papers. 


DELIGHTFUL   DODD 


CHAPTER   I. 

READY   AND   RE- 
SOURCEFUL 

A  YOUNG  woman  — 
quiet,     self  -  possessed, 
with  the  air  of  one  who 
was      accustomed      to 
think  and  act  for  her- 
self —  stepped       from 
the  kitchen  door  of  the 
farmhouse  and  walked 
briskly  toward  the  barn.    In  the  well-worn  path  she 
met  a  man,  moving  with  the  deliberate  stride  of 
weight  and  strength  in  the  direction  of  the  house. 
"  Can  you  get  me  to  the  9.20  train?  "  she  asked. 
He  looked  at  her,  and  then  at  a  big  silver  watch 
that  he  carried. 

"  Be  ready  in  five  minutes,"  he  said. 

Neither  hurried,  but  neither  lost  any  time.     His 

favourite  horse  already  had  the  harness  on,   and 

he  had  only  to  bring  it  out  and  hitch  it  to  the 

side-bar  buggy.     She  went  to  her  room,  put  a  few 


Delightful  Dodd 


things  in  a  little  valise,  and  was  ready  when  he 
drove  up  to  the  horse-block  at  the  lane  gate.  A 
moment  later  they  were  speeding  down  the  country 
road. 

"  If  the  train's  on  time,"  he  remarked,  "  I'm 
afraid  we  won't  make  it,  but  it's  generally  late." 

"  We  must  make  it,"  she  said. 

"What's  wrong?"  he  asked. 

"  Gracie's  husband  is  dead,"  she  replied.  "  I  am 
going  to  her." 

He  touched  the  horse  with  the  whip  and  the 
spirited  anirrDal  responded  with  a  burst  of  speed. 

"  I  knew  it  was  something  serious,"  he  com- 
mented, "  or  you  wouldn't  have  tried  to  make  this 
train.  Somehow  there's  always  a  reason  for  any- 
thing you  ask,  and  you  don't  have  to  chase  around 
like  a  chicken  with  its  head  off  to  make  a  fellow 
understand  it.  Some  girls  would  have  had  hys- 
terics first  and  thought  about  the  train  afterward." 

"  Some  men,"  she  returned,  quietly,  "  would  have 
wasted  time  with  questions  instead  of  getting  the 
horse." 

"  Oh,  well,  I  know  you,"  he  said,  as  if  that  set- 
tled the  whole  question.  "  When  you  speak  in  that 
quiet,  earnest  way,  it  means  something.  You  know 
what  you  want  to  do  and  the  reason  why,  and  it's 
generally  the  best  thing  to  do  —  always,  I  guess." 


Ready  and   Resourceful 


"  Not  always,"  she  corrected. 

"  Well,  anyway,  I  don't  stop  to  ask  any  ques- 
tions when  you  want  a  thing  done  in  a  hurry." 

"That's  why  I  go  to  you,"  she  said.  "We 
understand  each  other." 

It  was,  indeed,  the  understanding  that  comes 
from  the  association  of  two  capable  people.  Jessie 
Marsden  had  lived  under  the  same  roof  with  her 
cousin,  Sam  Carroll,  ever  since  the  death  of  her 
mother  several  years  before,  and  she  had  proved 
herself  to  be  a  woman  of  quiet  firmness,  quick  per- 
ception, and  excellent  judgment.  "  She  thinks  like 
a  man,"  Sam  had  once  said  of  her,  in  a  burst  of 
admiration,  but,  while  there  was  something  of  truth 
in  the  expression,  it  gave  a  false  impression,  for 
there  was  nothing  masculine  about  her.  In  appear- 
ance she  was  a  pleasing  young  woman  of  about 
twenty-two  years,  with  natural  graces  of  mind  and 
person  that  had  been  further  developed  by  excel- 
lent educational  advantages.  She  was  sincere,  un- 
assuming, resourceful,  and  her  aunt,  with  whom  she 
had  lived  since  the  death  of  her  mother,  had  learned 
to  depend  upon  her  in  many  ways,  —  so  many,  in 
fact,  that  she  discouraged  any  suggestion  of  going 
back  to  the  city.  So  Jessie,  having  a  very  trifling 
income  of  her  own,  and  lacking  the  expertness  in 
any  line  that  would  enable  her  to  earn  her  own 


Delightful   Dodd 


living  (except  possibly  as  a  school-teacher),  had 
made  the  best  of  a  situation  that  could  not,  in  the 
very  nature  of  things,  be  particularly  agreeable  to 
her. 

Sam  Carroll  admired  her  as  a  brother  might 
admire  her.  He  was  big,  good-natured,  easy-going, 
as  a  general  thing,  and  he  liked  her  air  of  quiet 
self-possession  and  confidence.  Never  aggressive, 
never  anything  but  womanly,  she  nevertheless  gave 
one  an  impression  of  reserve  force  and  readiness; 
and  he  was  like  her  in  one  thing,  and  one  thing 
only:  he  would  think  and  act  quickly,  although 
never  hurriedly,  when  occasion  required.  Under 
the  same  circumstances,  no  other  two  would  have 
been  on  their  way  to  town  so  soon  after  the  receipt 
of  the  news  that  led  her  to  make  the  trip.  As  it 
was,  even  he  —  big,  blundering  man  —  could  not 
fail  to  appreciate  the  mental  readiness  that  led  her 
to  start  as  few  women  would  think  possible.  She 
had  only  a  little  hand-bag. 

"  How  about  your  trunk  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  asked  Jane  to  pack  it,  and  you'll  have  to  for- 
ward it,"  she  replied.  "  I  suppose,"  whimsically, 
"  she'll  leave  out  half  the  things  I  want,  and  scatter 
some  of  my  most  cherished  possessions,  but  —  I 
couldn't  wait  for  a  trunk  after  I  got  that  telegram. 
I  barely  had  time  to  slip  into  a  decent  gown." 


Ready  and  Resourceful 


"  You're  all  right  in  any  gown,"  he  asserted, 
thus  unconsciously  paying  a  tribute  to  the  neatness 
that  was  one  of  her  most  pleasing  characteristics, 
—  neatness  without  irritating  preciseness. 

At  the  station  they  found  that  the  train  was  fif- 
teen minutes  late.  It  ought  to  reach  the  Junction 
eight  minutes  ahead  of  the  through  train,  with 
which  it  aimed  to  make  connections,  but  it  promised 
to  be  seven  minutes  behind  it. 

"  Will  they  wait  for  us?"  she  asked. 

"  Not  over  two  minutes,"  replied  the  station- 
agent. 

"  See  here,  Bill,"  put  in  Sam,  with  the  familiarity 
of  an  old  acquaintance,  "  can't  you  fix  it  for  us?  " 

"  Trains  ain't  held  on  my  orders,"  returned  the 
agent. 

"  But  I  must  get  that  train,"  she  urged.  "  Isn't 
there  any  way  to  do  it?  It  is  very  important." 

Whatever  a  woman  wants  is  "  very  important " 
in  most  cases,  and  men  who  have  constant  dealings 
with  the  sex  are  not  easily  impressed,  but,  after 
a  moment  of  hesitation,  the  agent  turned  to  his 
telegraph-key. 

"  I'll  see  what  I  can  do,  Miss  Marsden,"  he  said. 

Presently  he  turned  back  to  her. 

"  I  made  it  a  personal  matter  with  Tom  over  at 
the  Junction,"  he  explained,  "  and  he's  pretty  sure 


Delightful   Dodd 


he  can  get  the  conductor  to  hold  the  train  five  min- 
utes, if  I  get  word  to  him  that  your  train  won't 
be  any  later  than  that.  They  don't  usually  bother 
much  about  this  one-horse  branch." 

"  Thank  you,"  she  said. 

"  I'm  glad  to  do  it  for  you,"  he  assured  her. 
Most  men  were  glad  to  do  what  they  could  for 
Jessie  Marsden,  not,  as  is  often  the  case,  because  of 
any  appearance  of  helplessness,  but  because  of  her 
quick  and  sincere  appreciation  of  favours  done  and 
her  unaggressive  self-reliance.  The  rational  woman, 
whose  self-reliance  is  not  so  irritatingly  prominent 
as  to  savour  of  egotism,  is  the  happy  medium  be- 
tween the  one  who  is  unreasonable  in  her  flurried 
dependence  and  the  one  who  is  unreasonable  in  her 
strong-minded  independence.  Jessie  resembled 
neither  of  these,  and  in  consequence  her  earnestness 
led  the  agent,  who  knew  her,  to  do  his  utmost  in 
her  behalf. 

"  Wire  him  that  we'll  make  it,"  said  the  engi- 
neer; and,  with  the  incentive  of  the  through  train 
being  held  five  minutes  for  him,  he  did  make  it. 
Just  that  spur  was  needed. 

As  the  train  drew  into  the  Junction,  Jessie  stood 
on  the  platform  of  the  car,  waiting. 

"  Don't  get  off  before  it  stops,"  cautioned  a 
brakeman. 


Ready  and  Resourceful 


"  I  never  do,"  she  replied,  quietly. 

She  was  on  the  station  platform  the  moment  the 
train  stopped,  however,  and  she  crossed  quickly 
to  where  the  conductor  of  the  through  train  stood, 
watch  in  hand. 

"  No  baggage !  "  came  the  cry. 

"  That's  a  good  thing,"  growled  the  conductor, 
as  he  gave  the  signal  to  start. 

Jessie  settled  herself  comfortably  and  tried  to 
read,  but  her  thoughts  were  busy  with  her  sister. 
Gracie  was  two  years  older,  but  much  more  de- 
pendent. There  had  always  been  some  one  to  take 
care  of  her,  for  she  had  married  just  previous  to 
their  father's  death,  and  had  been  spared  the  trou- 
bles that  had  followed,  culminating  in  the  death 
of  their  mother.  Her  husband  had  been  reasonably 
successful  in  business  until  ill  health  had  forced  his 
retirement  and  sent  him  to  the  Peninsula  County 
(Michigan)  farm,  where  he  had  died;  but  Jessie 
feared  that  he  had  left  practically  nothing,  and  that 
her  sister,  in  this  trying  hour,  was  among  compara- 
tive strangers.  This  made  it  doubly  imperative  that 
she  should  get  to  her  at  once.  She  knew  that  she 
had  to  leave  the  train  at  Traverse  City,  that  it  was 
an  hour's  ride  by  boat  from  Traverse  City  to  Neah- 
tawanta,  and  that  the  farm  was  six  or  seven  miles 
from  the  latter  place;  this  much  letters  had  told 


8  Delightful  Dodd 

her;  but  she  never  before  had  made  the  trip,  and 
now  she  was  wondering  how  she  could  best  avoid 
the  possibility  of  delay. 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  she  saw  a 
baggage-transfer  man  coming  down  the  aisle  of  the 
car. 

"  Is  there  an  afternoon  boat  to  Neahtawanta  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  Sure,"  he  answered.  "  Want  to  go  to  the 
dock?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Any  baggage  ?  " 

"  No." 

'Twenty-five  cents,  please,"  hie  said,  handing 
her  a  transfer  ticket. 

"  Is  there  a  livery-stable  at  Neahtawanta  ?  "  she 
asked. 

"  Sure.  We  keep  a  branch  there  for  the  summer- 
resort  business." 

"Can  I  telegraph  for  a  horse  and  buggy?" 

"  I'll  telephone." 

'  Thank  you.  Tell  them  to  have  it  at  the  dock, 
please,  when  the  boat  gets  in,  —  for  Miss  Marsden. 
I  want  to  get  to  Daniel  Dodd's  farm  as  soon  as 
possible.  You  won't  forget,  will  you  ?  " 

To  reassure  her  he  made  a  memorandum  of  her 
instructions  before  passing  on,  and  he  also  made  the 


Ready  and   Resourceful 


mental  comment,  "  She's  all  right,"  meaning  that 
she  lacked  the  nervous  indecision  that  he  found  in 
many  women  travellers. 

There  was  a  wait  of  half  an  hour  at  the  Trav- 
erse City  dock,  but  there  was  none  whatever  at  the 
Neahtawanta  dock.  A  man  was  waiting  there  with 
a  horse  and  buggy,  and  she  had  reached  it  before 
most  of  the  women  passengers  had  succeeded  in 
gathering  together  their  bundles.  Yet  she  did  not 
seem  to  hurry  as  much  as  the  rest  of  them;  it  all 
lay  in  her  directness  and  readiness  —  mental  as  well 
as  physical. 

"  For  Miss  Marsden  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  driver. 

She  gained  the  seat  beside  him  —  an  awkward 
feat  for  any  woman  —  while  he  was  thinking  of 
jumping  out  to  help  her. 

"  I  want  to  go  to  Daniel  Dodd's  farm,  and  hurry, 
please,"  she  said.  "  I  am  willing  to  pay  something 
extra  for  speed." 

The  details  of  that  trip  from  farm  to  farm  — 
uneventful,  so  far  as  adventure  or  serious  tribula- 
tions are  concerned  —  give  a  better  idea  of  Jessie 
Marsden  than  could  be  conveyed  by  any  mere  de- 
scription of  her.  She  kept  her  purpose  ever  in 
mind,  and  she  let  nothing  bewilder  or  disconcert 
her. 


CHAPTER   II. 

A    "  PECULIAR  "    MAN 

DANIEL  DODD  wandered  aimlessly  down  Cherry 
Lane,  smoking  a  cigar.  Dodd  was  a  city  man, 
transferred  to  the  country  by  an  unexpected  com- 
bination of  circumstances  many  years  before,  and 
he  never  had  lost  his  city  preference  for  a  cigar. 
Occasionally  he  might  smoke  a  pipe,  but  he  was 
usually  successful  in  his  efforts  to  have  a  few  cigars 
in  reserve. 

Dodd  was  a  man  of  medium  height  and  build, 
with  gray  hair,  a  gray  beard,  a  kindly  smile,  and 
eyes  that  were  proof  of  a  sense  of  humour.  It 
was  frequently  necessary  to  glance  at  those  eyes 
or  catch  a  fleeting  glimpse  of  the  smile  to  decide 
definitely  whether  it  was  humour  or  bitterness  that 
lurked  behind  some  of  his  remarks.  But  the  hu- 
mour could  always  be  discerned  by  any  who  took 
the  trouble  to  look  for  it. 

Some  of  the  neighbours  said  that  Dodd  was  a 
"  peculiar  "  man,  and  "  peculiar  "  is  a  very  indefi- 

10 


A   "  Peculiar  "   Man  1 1 

nite  and  misleading  term.  It  may  mean  that  a 
man  is  original  or  unbalanced  or  disagreeable,  — 
in  fact,  anything  that  differs  from  the  mediocre 
average  of  mankind.  The  man  who  does  not  live 
exactly  as  we  do  is  "  peculiar."  The  man  whose 
idea  of  pleasure  varies  ever  so  slightly  from  ours 
is  "  peculiar."  So  is  the  man  whose  ambition  in 
life  we  do  not  happen  to  understand,  —  and  the 
lunatic  and  the  genius.  The  idea  conveyed  all  de- 
pends upon  the  manner  in  which  the  assertion  is 
made.  It  may  bring  a  shudder  or  a  laugh  or  make 
us  wish  to  know  the  man  better. 

Dodd  was  at  least  harmlessly  peculiar.  He  said 
strange  things  and  enjoyed  himself  in  strange  ways, 
but  he  was  honest,  sympathetic,  and  generous,  so 
no  one  said  evil  of  him.  Some  one  who  had  been 
over  to  borrow  a  churn  of  him  the  day  before 
might  say  to  the  passing  stranger :  "  Dodd  ?  Dan'l 
Dodd?  Oh,  of  course,  I  know  him.  He  means 
right,  but  he's  jest  a  leetle  peculiar."  There  would 
be  a  tone  of  condescending  pity  in  this,  —  a  sort 
of  "  Too  bad !  "  inflection  that  was  an  indication 
that  the  man  had  got  the  churn.  Otherwise,  he 
would  say  much  the  same  thing  in  a  way  that  would 
convey  an  impression  of  objectionable  or  dangerous 
peculiarity. 

And,  for  the  most  part,  this  grew  out  of  the  fact 


12  Delightful  Dodd 

that  Dodd  could  enjoy  himself  by  himself.  He  did 
not  seek  seclusion  or  spurn  the  society  of  his  fel- 
lows, but  he  did  not  need  that  society  for  his  own 
enjoyment.  He  had  a  mathematical  mind,  and  the 
farm  was  full  of  mathematical  problems,  if  any  one 
took  the  trouble  to  look  for  them.  Dodd  could  sit 
on  the  front  porch  of  his  house  and  see  whole  acres 
of  problems.  Nearly  everything  he  saw  gave  him 
an  idea  to  elaborate  or  a  problem  to  solve.  He 
could  pick  up  ideas  and  problems  in  the  woods, 
so  the  woods  had  many  attractions  for  him ;  but  the 
neighbours  could  not  understand  this  view  of  things, 
and  it  naturally  followed  that  Dodd  talked  little 
with  them.  Yet  he  was  a  most  entertaining  con- 
versationalist to  any  one  who  could  appreciate 
originality  and  quaint  humour,  for  he  always  had 
something  new  and  surprising  to  suggest. 

Knowing  this  much  of  Dodd,  no  one  could  have 
been  blamed  for  surmising  that  he  was  estimating 
the  number  of  cherries  on  the  trees  in  Cherry  Lane, 
or  the  cubic  feet  of  sntoke  that  could  be  produced 
by  one  cigar.  But,  in  this  instance,  his  mind  was 
on  neither  problem,  for  one  of  the  minor  tragedies 
of  life  had  been  enacted  under  his  roof.  Edward 
Congrove  had  died  early  that  morning,  unexpect- 
edly in  one  sense,  but  not  in  another.  That  he 
might,  and  probably  would,  die  suddenly  had  been 


A  "Peculiar''   Man  13 

known  for  some  time,  but  he  had  not  been  an  in- 
valid in  the  sense  of  being  confined  to  his  bed,  and 
there  was  little  outward  indication  that  he  was 
fatally  afflicted.  Consequently,  his  wife  had  refused 
to  look  upon  his  death  as  an  immediate  probability 
that  would  come  without  further  warning.  Yet 
Dodd,  being  an  observing  man,  and  also  of  an  in- 
vestigating turn  of  mind,  had  realized  the  situation 
from  the  beginning,  —  and  also  what  it  meant  to 
him.  He  had  a  large  place,  with  one  large  house 
and  several  smaller  ones  on  it,  and  the  people  who 
came  there  for  the  summer  added  materially  to  an 
income  that  was  none  too  large.  It  was  not  a  place 
for  invalids,  and  he  did  not  want  them.  The  con- 
ditions made  association  so  intimate  that  a  death 
would  "  kill  the  season,"  and  even  a  serious  illness 
would  result  in  a  general  depression  that  would 
drive  people  away.  In  such  a  place  one  cannot 
escape  the  influences  that  are  unnoticed  elsewhere. 
Some  neighbours  of  Dodd,  not  being  "  peculiar  " 
and  open  to  criticism,  would  have  sent  Edward  Con- 
grove  away,  and  other  neighbours  would  have  said 
they  had  done  just  right.  But  Dodd,  being  "  pecul- 
iar," discussed  the  matter  with  his  wife,  and  ended 
the  discussion  by  saying,  "  Let  him  stay."  In  do- 
ing this,  he  did  not  minimize  the  possible  cost  to 
himself.  On  the  contrary,  he  gave  that  thoughtful 


14  Delightful  Dodd 

consideration,  and  then  looked  at  it  from  another 
point  of  view.  The  doctor,  Mrs.  Congrove  informed 
him,  had  said  that  a  restful,  quiet  summer  out-of- 
doors  might  prolong  his  life.  Mrs.  Congrove,  with 
happy  optimism,  had  interpreted  this  to  mean 
"  would  prolong  his  life,"  but  Dodd  grasped  the 
significance  of  the  "  might." 

"  It  doesn't  seem  to  me,"  mused  Dodd,  "  that  I 
can  put  my  money  against  his  chance  to  live  a  little 
longer.  I  think  I'd  rather  lose  than  feel  that  I'd 
won  in  that  kind  of  a  game." 

Daniel  Dodd  certainly  was  "  peculiar."  He  was 
beholden  to  this  man  in  no  way;  he  never  had 
heard  of  him  until  the  application  came  for  rooms; 
he  never  had  seen  him  until  the  man  and  his  wife 
arrived;  he  had  nothing  to  gain  and  considerable 
to  lose;  but  he  said,  "Let  him  stay!"  And  an- 
other "  peculiar "  thing  about  Daniel  Dodd  was 
that  he  was  not  thinking  of  the  fact  that  "  the  sea- 
son was  killed,"  as  he  strolled  along  Cherry  Lane; 
that  he  had  made  this  sacrifice  to  no  purpose  what- 
ever ;  that  he  might  better  have  followed  the  course 
dictated  by  business  sense,  which  would  have  pre- 
vented a  loss  he  could  ill  afford  and  would  have 
done  no  harm.  Instead,  he  was  thinking  of  Mrs. 
Congrove,  as  he  had  been  since  four  o'clock  that 
morning,  when  he  started  to  see  if  he  could  get  a 


A  "Peculiar"   Man  15 

telegram  through  to  Mrs.  Congrove's  sister  by  tele- 
phoning from  Old  Mission  to  the  operator  at  Trav- 
erse City.  He  was  thinking  of  her  helplessness,  and 
wondering  what  would,  or  could,  be  done  for  her. 
She  had  collapsed  so  completely  that  she  was  utterly 
incapable  of  acting  or  thinking  for  herself,  further 
than  to  say,  "  Wait  for  Jessie."  But  it  would  be 
another  day  before  Jessie  could  get  there,  so  Daniel 
Dodd  and  his  wife  had  had  to  assume  responsi- 
bility in  many  ways.  It  was  the  future,  rather  than 
the  present,  that  occupied  Dodd,  however.  He  was 
such  a  "  peculiar "  man  that  he  was  giving  his 
whole  mind  to  an  attempt  to  solve  this  young  wid- 
ow's problems  for  her,  for  something  of  her  finan- 
cial circumstances  had  become  known  to  him.  And 
he  was  so  "  peculiar  "  that  he  gave  no  inkling  of 
this,  although  he  heard  some  talk  of  her  probable 
predicament  from  others.  Dodd  liked  to  discuss 
abstract,  impersonal  questions,  but  the  personal 
affairs  of  others  were  too  sacred  for  idle  gossip. 
So,  when  Ralph  Leonard  came  to  him  in  Cherry 
Lane,  he  became  more  absorbed  than  ever  in  the 
smoke  and  the  cherries. 

"  It's  been  a  nice  day,"  remarked  Leonard,  for 
want  of  something  better  to  say. 

"  Nice  for  some,  bad  for  others,"  returned  Dodd, 
sententiously. 


1 6  Delightful   Dodd 

"  I  referred  to  the  weather  only,"  Leonard  has- 
tened to  explain. 

"  So  did  I,"  said  Dodd. 

"Well,  the  weather  has  been  good,  hasn't  it?" 
persisted  Leonard. 

"  Depends  on  your  business  or  your  pleasure," 
replied  Dodd.  "  Good  weather  for  some  of  us  just 
now  would  be  rainy  weather.  The  crops  need  it." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  about  it?" 

Dodd  looked  thoughtfully  at  the  sky  for  a  mo- 
ment. 

"  I  haven't  noticed  that  it  makes  much  difference 
what  kind  of  weather  I  prefer,"  he  said  at  last, 
"  and  perhaps  it's  just  as  well.  If  the  Lord  con- 
sulted me,  there'd  be  some  other  fellow  kicking." 

Leonard  laughed  and  changed  the  subject. 

"  Would  you  consider  it  impertinent  or  indeli- 
cate," he  said,  "  if  I  asked  if  you  knew  anything 
about— er — Mrs.  Congrove's  financial  condition?" 

"  I  don't  know  that  it  concerns  you,"  retorted 
Dodd,  with  a  sharpness  that  was  unusual. 

"  Now,  please  don't  think  so  badly  of  me  as  that," 
urged  the  young  man.  "  There's  been  some  gossip 
that  I've  heard,  and  —  er  —  it's  so  horrible  to  think 
of  a  woman  having  financial  worries  on  her  mind 
at  such  a  time!  I  thought  that,  if  it  were  true,  I 
might  be  able  to  help  in  some  way  through  you 


A   "Peculiar"   Man  17 

without  her  knowing  it.  I  don't  know  just  how, 
but  —  well,  there's  the  board.  There  was  some  talk 
on  the  porch  of  —  " 

"  The  only  way  that  some  people  can  mind  their 
own  business,"  interrupted  Dodd,  "  is  to  pretend 
that  other  people's  business  is  theirs.  You  tell  them 
it's  paid,  —  paid  in  full  to  date,  and  clear  into  the 
future  as  long  as  she  wants  to  stay  here." 

The  young  man,  rather  crestfallen,  was  turning 
away  when  Dodd  called  him  back. 

"  You  mean  well,  but  you  don't  know,"  said 
Dodd.  "  There's  only  one  way  for  a  man  to  do 
a  clever  and  delicate  thing  right,  and  that's  to  get 
a  woman  to  do  it  for  him.  A  man  may  have  the 
right  impulses,  but  he  wants  to  turn  the  job  over  to 
his  wife.  I  guess  that's  the  reason  marriage  was 
invented.  I'm  not  saying  it's  the  only  reason,  but 
it  looks  to  me  like  one  of  them." 

Leonard  laughed  again.  Dodd  was  always  giv- 
ing him  surprises,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  know  that 
his  motive  was  really  understood. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  the  young  man  remarked, 
"  that  in  this  particular  instance  you're  doing  it  as 
well  as  a  woman." 

"  No,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Whatever  I  may  be  do- 
ing or  planning  to  do  reveals  the  usual  masculine 
clumsiness,  or  you  never  would  have  found  it  out." 


1 8  Delightful  Dodd 

He  turned  toward  the  house,  as  he  saw  his  wife 
beckoning  him  from  a  side  door.  Mrs.  Dodd  was 
very  tired  and  very  much  distressed. 

"  I  don't  know  what  we're  going  to  do,"  she  said. 
"  She  has  been  at  a  window  for  the  last  hour,  watch- 
ing for  her  sister.  She  seems  always  to  have  relied 
on  her  sister  for  consolation  and  counsel." 

"  She  can't  get  here  to-night,"  returned  Dodd. 
"  I'll  meet  the  miorning  boat  at  Neahtawanta,  but 
to-night  —  " 

"  Listen !  "  interrupted  Mrs.  Dodd. 

Some  vehicle  was  being  driven  rapidly  along  the 
road,  —  too  rapidly  to  seem  natural  in  that  locality. 
It  turned  in  at  the  drive,  and  they  saw  a  foam- 
flecked  horse,  with  a  young  woman  and  a  driver 
from  Neahtawanta  in  the  buggy  behind  it. 

"  Well,  by  thunder !  "  ejaculated  Dodd.  "  Ain't 
I  old  enough  yet  never  to  try  to  say  what  a  woman 
can't  do!" 

Mrs.  Dodd  hurried  back  to  her  charge,  who 
turned  from  the  window  to  say  with  a  weary  sigh 
and  smile :  "  I  told  you  so.  You  didn't  know  Jessie, 
you  see." 

And  Jessie,  after  nine  hours  of  travel,  took  imme- 
diate charge  in  her  quiet,  masterful  way,  that  in- 
spired all  with  a  sense  of  confidence  and  relief. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   JOY   OF   PROBLEMS 


"A    MOST    remarkable   man!"    com- 
mented Mrs.   Sardley. 

"  Think  of  the  time  he  wastes  on  fool- 
ish problems  and  absurd  ideas,"  said  Mr. 
Sardley,  and  Leonard  had  to  smile,  for 
a  hammock  and  a  cigar  claimed  nine-tenths  of  all 
Sardley's  time,  which  surely  was  not  putting  it  to 
profitable  use. 

"  Have  you  told  him  we  are  going?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Sardley. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Sardley.  "  He  said  he  under- 
stood we  had  engaged  the  rooms  for  the  summer, 
but  I  told  him  recent  happenings  made  the  asso- 
ciations a  little  too  gloomy  for  us." 

'9 


2O  Delightful  Dodd 

"Did  he  object?" 

"  No ;  but  I  could  see  he  didn't  like  it  very  well." 

"  I'm  sorry  for  him,"  remarked  Mrs.  Sardley, 
"  but  I  don't  see  why  we  should  spoil  our  summer  on 
his  account.  Are  you  going  to  stay,  Miss  Winton?" 

"  Oh,  yes ;  now  that  it's  all  over  and  they've 
gone,"  replied  Miss  Winton.  "  If  they  were  coming 
back,  it  would  be  different." 

"  From  what  is  known  of  his  affairs  in  the  city," 
put  in  Mr.  Sardley,  "  I  don't  believe  he  left  money 
enough  to  enable  them  to  come  back,  and  I  don't 
understand  that  the  sister  has  anything." 

Before  anything  could  be  added  to  the  gossip, 
Daniel  Dodd  came  around  the  corner  of  the  house. 

"  Dodd,"  exclaimed  Sardley,  with  patronizing 
geniality,  "  we  were  just  talking  about  you,  and  I 
made  a  wager  that,  with  your  penchant  for  figures, 
you  had  already  discovered  the  dimensions  of  that 
big  maple  that's  the  pride  of  your  place." 

Dodd  gave  the  tree  thoughtful  and  speculative 
scrutiny,  while  Sardley  winked  at  the  others.  The 
tree  was  a  magnificent  specimen,  and  it  was  well 
known  that  Dodd  took  great  pride  in  it. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Dodd  at  last,  as  if  trying 
desperately  to  recall  something,  "  it  seems  to  me  that 
some  boy  that  was  up  here  about  ten  years  ago  did 
measure  it,  but  those  easy  things  don't  interest  me." 


The  Joy  of  Problems  21 

"Measured  its  height?"  exclaimed  Sardley. 

"  Height,  diameter,  and  circumference." 

Sardley  smiled  with  easy  confidence.  He  knew 
mighty  little  outside  of  his  own  little  rut  in  the  city, 
but  the  city  man  seldom  appreciates  his  ignorance. 

"How  did  he  measure  its  height?"  demanded 
Sardley. 

"  Just  as  any  smart  boy  would,"  replied  Dodd, 
with  solemn  innocence. 

"  How  would  any  smart  boy  do  it  ?  "  persisted 
Sardley.  "  Don't  be  evasive,  Dodd.  We've  got 
to  have  this  demonstrated." 

"  Oh,  if  you  want  to  know  the  height  of  the 
tree,"  said  Dodd,  "  why,  measure  it." 

"How?"  demanded  Sardley. 

"  Get  a  long,  straight  stick,"  said  Dodd. 

Sardley  disturbed  his  comfort  long  enough  to 
get  a  stick. 

"  Measure  the  stick,"  said  Dodd. 

"  And  then,"  laughed  Sardley,  as  he  followed 
instructions,  "  I  suppose  you'll  tell  me  to  climb  the 
tree  and  use  the  stick  as  a  sort  of  yardstick.  What 
is  the  joke,  Dodd?" 

"  It's  coming,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Now,  hold  the 
stick  straight  up  from  the  ground  and  measure  its 
shadow." 


22  Delightful   Dodd 

"  Done,"  said  Sardley.  "  When  are  you  coming 
to  the  incantation?" 

"  Measure  the  shadow  of  the  tree  from  base  to 
tip,"  instructed  Dodd. 

"  That's  a  good  deal  of  a  job,  Dodd,"  protested 
Sardley,  for  Dodd  was  now  sitting  comfortably 
on  the  edge  of  the  porch,  and  Sardley  was  busy 
in  the  sun. 

"  That's  what  the  boy  said,"  asserted  Dodd. 
Sardley  was  about  to  throw  down  the  stick  and 
measure  in  disgust  when  Dodd  added :  "  But  the 
boy  did  it,  and  he  got  the  height  of  the  tree." 

Sardley  looked  at  Dodd  uncertainly. 

"  When  he  knew  how  much  of  a  stick  it  took 
to  cast  a  certain  shadow  at  a  certain  time  of  day," 
Dodd  went  on,  "  he  found  out  how  much  of  a  tree 
it  would  take  to  cast  another  certain  shadow  at  the 
same  time  of  day,  —  just  as  any  smart  boy  would." 

Leonard  and  the  ladies  laughed,  and  Sardley's 
face  grew  red. 

"  Why,  of  course !  "  exclaimed  Sardley.  "  I 
knew  that,  but  somehow  I  didn't  happen  to  think 
of  it." 

"  The  things  wie  know  and  don't  think  of  when 
we  ought  to  know  them  most  don't  count  for  much 
in  this  world,"  remarked  Dodd,  drily.  Dodd  did 
not  like  to  be  patronized  or  "  guyed,"  and  when  he 


The  Joy  of  Problems  23 

detected  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  any  one  to  do 
either  of  these  things,  he  usually  managed  to  acquit 
himself  creditably.  "  And,  on  the  other  hand,"  he 
added,  "  if  we  could  always  remember  the  things 
that  we  know  when  we  -ought  to  remember  them, 
we'd  all  of  us  reduce  our  mistakes  by  more  than 
half." 

"  The  height  of  the  tree,"  announced  Sardley, 
who  had  been  busy  with  pencil  and  paper,  "  is 
fifty-nine  feet." 

"  The  diameter  of  the  spread  of  its  branches," 
added  Dodd,  looking  into  space  reflectively,  "  is 
fifty-six  feet,  which,  as  any  schoolboy  knows,  gives 
a  circumference  of  168  feet." 

"  How  did  you  come  to  figure  that  out?  "  asked 
Sardley. 

"  For  amusement." 

"  Queer  kind  of  amusement !  " 

"  Well,  perhaps,  but  I  don't  know  that  it's  any 
queerer  than  playing  cards  or  drinking  wine,  and 
it's  a  blame  sight  cheaper  and  healthier." 

"  Did  you  count  the  leaves  —  for  amusement  ?  " 
asked  Sardley. 

Dodd  looked  the  tree  over  from  top  to  bottom. 

"  No,"  he  said  at  last,  "  I  didn't  count  the  leaves, 
but,  when  they're  all  there,  you  could  find  enough 
of  them  to  cover  ten  acres  of  ground." 


24  Delightful   Dodd 

"Now  you're  joking!"   exclaimed    Sardley. 

"  I  can  show  you,"  returned  Dodd,  slowly,  "  how 
any  smart  boy  can  do  the  problem." 

"  No,  thank  you !  "  replied  Sardley,  hastily.  "  I 
don't  want  any  more  smart-boy  examples.  But 
how  did  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  I  read  up  a  little  on  maples,  learned  how  thickly 
the  leaves  ordinarily  grow,  experimented  a  little 
on  a  small  scale,  verified  the  minor  estimates,  got 
the  thing  satisfactorily  settled  for  a  small  tree,  re- 
duced the  total  leaf  area  to  square  yards,  and  then 
it  was  a  simple  matter  to  progress  to  the  big  tree 
and  acres." 

"  Is  that  amusement  ?  "  asked  Sardley,  when  he 
had  recovered  from  his  astonishment. 

"  Oh,  it's  every  man  to  his  taste,"  answered 
Dodd.  "  There  are  some  who  like  to  go  over  to 
Elk  Rapids  on  circus  day  and  come  home  broke  and 
nervous,  but  figures  suit  me." 

"Does  that  tree  tell  you  anything  else?"  asked 
Miss  Winton.  "  You  seem  to  be  able  to  get  a  good 
deal  of  information  from  it." 

Dodd  looked  at  the  tree  again  in  his  deliberate 
way,  and  then  turned  to  Miss  Winton. 

"  The  tree,"  he  said,  quizzically,  "  tells  me  some- 
thing that  leads  me  to  surmise  that  it  is  not  a 
feminine  tree." 


The  Joy  of  Problems  25 

"  Not  a  feminine  tree !  "  they  all  exclaimed. 

"  That,  you  understand,"  Dodd  explained,  with 
a  barely  perceptible  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  "  is  merely 
a  surmise  from  what  it  tells  me." 

"What  does  it  tell  you?"  inquired  Mrs.  Sard- 
ley. 

"  It  tells  me  its  age,"  replied  Dodd,  and  now 
Sardley  had  his  opportunity  to  laugh. 

"Anything  else?"  asked  the  ladies,  anxious  to 
pass  on  to  the  next  point. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Dodd.  "  It  tells  me  that  this 
ground  was  clear  before  the  days  of  the  white  man." 

"How  can  it  tell  you  that?"  persisted  Miss 
Winton. 

"  Because,"  replied  Dodd,  "  a  tree  seeks  the 
light.  In  a  forest  it  shoots  straight  up  to  get  to  the 
sun,  but  on  open  ground  it  spreads  out.  This  tree 
is  two  hundred  years  old  and  has  a  wonderful 
spread.  It  was  probably  one  of  the  boundary 
marks  of  an  Indian  clearing." 

"  You  must  have  wasted  a  lot  of  time  over  these 
things,"  remarked  Sardley. 

"Was  it  wasted?"  asked  Dodd,  rising;  "or 
was  it  the  time  previously  spent  in  the  city  that 
was  wasted  ?  " 

"  We'd  rather  you'd  answer  your  own  question," 
said  Mrs.  Sardley.  "  Which  was  it  ?  " 


26  Delightful   Dodd 

"  That,  madam,  depends  upon  the  point  of  view," 
replied  Dodd.  Then,  turning  to  Leonard :  "  Want 
to  drive  over  after  some  tools  with  me  ?  " 

"  Glad  to,"  answered  Leonard.  "  Need  some 
new  tools?  " 

"  No,"  returned  Dodd,  "  I  need  some  old  ones." 

"Borrowing?"  laughed  Mrs.  Sardley.  "I've 
heard  you  all  borrow  in  the  country." 

"  No ;  some  of  us  merely  loan.  But  the  borrower 
in  the  country  thinks  he  has  done  all  that  is  neces- 
sary if  he  sends  for  the  thing  he  wants.  We  didn't 
understand  that  when  we  first  came  here,  and  I 
loaned  a  lantern,  expecting  it  to  be  returned.  Hav- 
ing need  of  it  a  few  months  later,  I  went  after  it, 
and  found  there  wasn't  enough  left  to  bring  home. 
In  my  ignorance  of  local  custom,  I  undertook  to 
gently  chide  the  man,  and  he  retorted :  *  Well,  if 
you  wanted  it,  why  didn't  you  come  for  it  ? ' 

"  If  that's  the  case,  I  wonder  that  you  loan  any- 
thing," exclaimed  Miss  Winton. 

"  I've  often  wondered  that  myself \"  returned 
Dodd,  with  the  air  of  one  who  was  truly  puzzled. 
And  he  sometimes  did  wonder  why  he  was  so  ac- 
commodating. "  By  the  way,"  he  added,  as  he  was 
moving  away  in  the  direction  of  the  barn.  "  I've 
had  a  letter  from  Miss  Marsden,  and  she  wants  to 


The  Joy  of  Problems  27 

bring  her  sister  back  here  for  the  rest  of  the  sum- 
mer. She  says  they  must  get  into  the  country  some- 
where." 

"  I  should  think  they  would  go  somewhere  else," 
said  Miss  Winton. 

"  Well,"  exclaimed  Dodd,  unconsciously  apolo- 
gizing for  the  absent  ones,  "  it's  rather  difficult  to 
find  another  suitable  place,  and  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  just  now,  under  the  circumstances." 

"  It's  nothing  to  us,"  put  in  Mrs.  Sardley,  "  for 
we're  going,  anyhow,  but  it  will  freshen  distressing 
memories  for  others  who  were  here  when  —  when 
it  happened,  and  people  don't  like  distressing  things 
on  summer  outings." 

"  No,  they  don't,"  admitted  Dodd. 

"  They'll  feel  as  if  they  ought  to  be  walking  on 
tiptoe  and  talking  in  whispers." 

"  I  suppose  so,"  said  Dodd. 

"  And  they'll  leave,  to  get  away  from  the  feel- 
ing of  depression." 

"  Some  will,"  Dodd  conceded. 

"  It's  a  hard  proposition  for  you,"  suggested 
Sardley.  "Have  you  decided  what  to  do?" 

"  Yes." 

"What?" 

"  Well,"  said  Dodd,  slowly,  "  it  sort  of  seemed 


28 


Delightful  Dodd 


to  me  that  that  little  woman  needs  the  farm  more 
than  all  the  rest  of  us  put  together  just  now." 

It  was  said  without  bitterness,  but  it  left  some 
worldly  people  puzzled  and  thoughtful.  They 
couldn't  understand  Dodd.  He  was  "  peculiar." 


CH AFTER '  IV. 

A    NEW    MEASURE   OF   VAL.UE 

"  I'M  thinking  of  starting  in  to  do  something 
when  I  go  back  to  the  city,"  remarked  Leonard, 
as  he  and  Daniel  Dodd  drove  along  on  Dodd's 
errand. 

"  Haven't  you  done  anything  yet?  "  asked  Dodd. 

"  Nothing  much,  except  live  on  my  income." 

"  Like  a  reservation  Indian,"  said  Dodd. 

There  was  something  in  Dodd's  smile  that 
soothed  the  sting  of  his  occasional  sarcasm.  While 
the  young  man  felt  that  it  was  a  palpable  hit,  he 
was  not  disposed  to  resent  it. 

"  When  you've  got  bank  stock  that's  paying  you 
pretty  regular  dividends,  you've  no  incentive  to 
work,"  argued  Leonard. 

"  That  depends  on  the  man,"  returned  Dodd. 
"  I  worked  the  hardest  when  my  money  was  in  a 
bank." 

"  Where  is  it  now  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  Still  in  the  bank,  I  guess." 
29 


30  Delightful  Dodd 

"And  where's  the  bank?" 

"  You'll  have  to  ask  the  receiver.  He  had  it 
the  last  I  knew  anything  about  it,  and  it  was  such 
a  good  thing  he  didn't  seem  to  want  to  let  go." 

"Whose  bank  was  it?" 

"Mine,  partly." 

"  So  that's  where  you  get  your  penchant  for 
figures  ?  "  suggested  Leonard,  at  a  loss  for  any- 
thing else  to  say.  When  a  man  inadvertently 
touches  upon  a  failure  in  another  man's  career,  he 
instinctively  feels  that  he  is  on  dangerous  ground. 

"Well,"  replied  Dodd,  thoughtfully,  "after  a 
good  many  years  spent  in  the  management  of  a 
country  bank,  I  naturally  had  to  look  for  mathe- 
matical problems  of  some  kind.  I  tell  you,  a  coun- 
try bank  is  the  place  to  study  finance  right  close 
to  the  people." 

"And  you  studied  it?" 

"  I  had  to,  and  I  think  I  learned  it,  too,  —  all 
but  one  thing." 

"What's  that?" 

"  Why,  I  neglected  to  draw  out  my  investment 
when  I  drew  out  myself." 

Leonard  did  not  wish  to  seem  impertinently  in- 
quisitive, but  he  was  interested,  and  he  finally  re- 
marked that  the  bank,  apparently,  did  not  fail  under 
Dodd's  management. 


A  New  Measure  of  Value  31 

"No,"  replied  Dodd,  slowly.  "I  bought  this 
place  with  an  idea  of  an  old  age  of  ease  and  com- 
fort right  next  to  nature,  and  a  few  years  later 
I  had  to  take  off  my  coat  and  hustle  to  make  it  pay. 
It's  a  big  place,  and  I  had  great  plans  for  it,  but 
I  no  longer  had  the  money  to  carry  out  the  plans. 
You've  got  to  put  money  into  a  farm  in  order  to 
take  it  out,  —  especially  a  fru.it  farm.  The  average 
farmer  doesn't  seem  to  know  this,  but  he's  begin- 
ning to  learn  it.  You've  got  to  be  generous  to  your 
farm  or  it  won't  be  generous  to  you,  and  it  takes 
money  and  men  to  be  generous  to  a  farm.  Do 
you  know  who  is  considered  the  richest  man  in  this 
vicinity?  " 

"No.     Who?" 

"  Old  Hank  Dickman." 

"What's  he  worth?" 

"  Five  able-bodied  sons." 

Leonard  gave  Dodd  a  quick  look,  but  the  latter 
never  smiled. 

"  That's  a  new  way  of  figuring  wealth,"  Leon- 
ard suggested  at  last. 

"  It's  what  counts  up  here,"  returned  Dodd. 
"  There  are  a  thousand  bushels  of  cherries  being 
picked  in  this  district  to-day,  and  there  ought  to 
be  five  thousand.  The  difference  represents  waste. 
People  are  crying  for  work  in  the  city,  and  people 


32  Delightful  Dodd 

are  crying  for  men,  women,  or  children  to  do  the 
work  up  here.  That's  why  fruit  is  often  high,  even 
when  the  crop  is  large." 

"  I  suppose  you  even  up  on  the  increased  price, 
then." 

Dodd  looked  thoughtfully  out  over  the  country. 

"  The  only  man  who  has  a  certainty,"  he  replied, 
"  is  the  man  who  sells  his  fruit  as  it  stands,  the 
buyer  to  do  the  picking  and  packing.  He  gets  a 
lump  sum  and  takes  no  risk,  but  only  the  best  can 
be  sold  that  way.  Take  apples,  for  instance.  Hank 
Dickman  is  so  rich  in  boys  that  his  orchards  are 
always  in  the  very  best  of  condition.  They  are 
ploughed  up  regularly,  and  every  possible  care  given 
to  the  trees,  and  he'll  sell  to  a  fruit-buyer  from  the 
city  for  $3,000  or  $4,000  spot  cash.  The  buyer 
will  send  his  own  men  up  here  to  pick,  pack,  and 
ship  the  apples.  Dickman  might  make  a  little  more 
by  shipping  himself,  but  he  would  run  a  risk,  for 
a  bad  storm  might  do  serious  harm,  and,  even  with 
his  five  boys,  he  might  not  be  able  to  handle  the 
crop.  The  buyer  can  do  the  work  more  economic- 
ally and  with  greater  certainty,  for  he  will  buy 
the  product  of  many  orchards.  No  one  could  afford 
to  bring  pickers  and  packers  from  the  city  for  his 
own  crop,  even  if  he  could  get  them." 


A  New  Measure  of  Value  33 

"  And  what  do  the  rest  of  you  do,  —  those  who 
are  unable  to  sell  on  this  plan?"  asked  Leonard. 

"  Oh,  we  do  the  best  we  can,"  answered  Dodd. 
"  We  capture  such  men  as  happen  to  stray  into 
this  region ;  we  brutally  insist  upon  putting  them  to 
work  at  good  wages ;  we  pick  and  pack  the  apples, 
and  ship  them  to  our  favourite  commission  men, 
and  then,  in  the  course  of  time,  we  learn  how  much 
we  owe,  because  the  apples  have  steamed  or  been 
bruised.  Shipping  fruit  to  market  at  your  own 
risk  is  one  of  the  most  exciting  forms  of  gambling 
known  to  mankind.  But  you  generally  lose,  because 
the  player  at  the  other  end  of  the  line  has  the  last 
say,  and  you  can't  prove  he's  a  liar  without  going 
to  the  city  with  your  shipment." 

Dodd's  tone  and  manner  of  whimsical  resigna- 
tion, as  he  gave  this  description  of  conditions, 
amused  Leonard  immensely,  but  he  could  see  that 
there  was  a  real  hardship  in  it  all.  Later,  when 
he  learned  more  of  Dodd's  story,  he  was  forced 
to  admire  the  courage  with  which  the  old  man  faced 
the  unexpected  reverses  just  when  he  believed  he 
had  established  himself  comfortably  for  life.  Hav- 
ing retired  from  active  business,  he  had  interested 
himself  in  planning  to  beautify  and  improve  this 
fine  old  place,  and  then  —  he  had  to  devote  himself 
to  the  problem  of  making  it  furnish  an  immediate 


34  Delightful  Dodd 

living  for  himself  and  his  wife.  He  could  not  be 
generous  to  his  farm  unless  his  farm  was  first  gen- 
erous to  him.  He  had  to  take  off  his  coat  and  go 
to  work  in  the  fields.  Knowing  what  was  necessary 
to  make  the  place  pay  handsomely,  he  found  himself 
so  involved  that  he  had  to  abandon  all  hope  of 
ever  being  able  to  accomplish  it.  But  Daniel  Dodd 
was  as  kindly  and  as  cheerful  in  adversity  as  he 
ever  had  been  in  prosperity.  He  might  be  "  pecul- 
iar," but  he  had  the  wisdom  of  practical  business 
experience,  and  his  assistance  and  advice  was  cheer- 
fully given  to  any  of  his  neighbours  who  might 
seek  it.  There  were  many  who  came  to  him  with 
their  financial  problems,  or,  indeed,  problems  or 
questions  of  any  description. 

Then,  to  help  out,  the  Dodds  began  to  take  sum- 
mer boarders.  The  buildings  on  their  place  had 
been  put  up  by  a  man  of  wealth,  who  had  planned 
to  spend  his  summers  there,  so  they  were  con- 
structed on  a  much  larger  and  better  scale  than  other 
structures  in  the  vicinity.  All  in  all,  it  was  an  ideal 
place  for  a  quiet  summer,  and  became  deservedly 
popular  with  the  few  who  knew  of  it.  But  to  know 
the  place  was  not  to  knowi  Dodd.  To  most  of  the 
boarders,  he  was  a  mystery.  He  dressed  like  a 
farmer,  and  he  looked  like  one;  he  made  no  pre- 
tensions to  being  anything  else;  he  seldom  spoke 


A  New  Measure  of  Value          35 

of  his  experience  as  a  business  man;  but  he  had 
an  extraordinary  amount  of  information  stored 
away  in  his  mind,  and  he  knew  where  to  find  almost 
anything  desired. 

"  Dodd,"  said  a  boarder,  on  one  occasion,  "  have 
they  any  kind  of  a  reference  library  at  Traverse 
City?" 

"What  do  you  want  to  find  out?"  asked  Dodd. 

"  Why,  we've  been  having  a  little  argument  about 
State  repudiation  of  debts  in  this  country,  and  we 
want  to  find  out  just  what  States  were  guilty  of  it." 

Dodd  was  hoeing  in  the  garden  at  the  time.  He 
dropped  his  hoe,  and  started  for  a  little  house  that 
lay  back  of  the  main  building.  Presently  he  re- 
turned with  a  book. 

"  I  could  have  told  you  most  of  them  from  mem- 
ory," he  said,  "  but  it's  just  as  well  to  be  certain 
about  these  things.  Here's  the  list."  And  he  read 
it  aloud  while  the  other  jotted  down  the  names. 
"  My  reference  library  is  back  there,"  he  explained. 
"  I  intended  to  have  my  office  and  den  there,  but " 
—  with  one  of  his  whimsical  smiles  —  "I  decided 
later  to  have  it  out  in  the  fields  under  my  hat." 

On  another  occasion  a  boarder,  looking  for  some- 
thing to  read  on  a  rainy  day,  asked  Dodd  if  he 
happened  to  have  anything  a  little  better  than  the 


36  Delightful  Dodd 

light  summer  fiction  with  which  most  of  the  visitors 
were  supplied. 

"How  would  Macaulay  do?"  asked  Dodd. 

"Got  something  of  Macaulay's?"  inquired  the 
boarder,  in  surprise. 

"  I've  got  his  complete  works,"  replied  Dodd. 

"  Got  it  at  a  bargain,  I  suppose,"  laughed  the 
boarder.  "  They're  popularizing  nearly  everything 
now." 

"  Yes,  it  was  a  bargain,"  returned  Dodd.  "  For 
a  fellow  situated  as  I  have  been,  Macaulay  at  any 
price  would  be  a  bargain." 

"  Much  of  a  library  ?  "  asked  the  boarder. 

"  No;  not  much  of  a  one,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Only 
about  a  thousand  volumes,  in  one  place  and  another, 
but  I  selected  it  with  considerable  care." 

These  little  details,  throwing  a  light  on  Dodd's 
character  and  predilections,  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  Leonard  gradually,  and,  at  the  time  of  their  drive, 
the  latter  realized  only  that  the  former  was  a  most 
interesting  and  entertaining  man.  He  was  thinking 
of  the  surprises  that  the  old  man  constantly  gave 
him,  when  Dodd  suddenly  checked  his  horses. 

"  Are  you  armed  ?  "  asked  Dodd,  anxiously. 

"What's  the  matter?"  inquired  Leonard. 

For  answer,  Dodd  pointed  to  a  man  walking 
toward  them. 


A  New  Measure  of  Value  37 

"  He  doesn't  look  dangerous,"  said  Leonard. 

"  Dangerous !  "  exclaimed  Dodd.  "  Of  course  he 
isn't  dangerous,  and  neither  are  we.  That's  the 
trouble.  I  want  that  man.  He  looks  as  if  he  could 
work.  Well,"  resignedly,  "  if  we  can't  kidnap  him, 
we'll  have  to  do  the  best  we  can  in  some  other  way." 

Then  he  hailed  the  man. 

"Want  a  lift?"  he  asked. 

"  You  ain't  going  my  way,"  the  man  replied. 

"  But  I  will  be  going  your  way  when  I  come 
back,"  said  Dodd.  "  And  you're  going  my  way 
now." 

The  man  looked  puzzled. 

"  I  ain't  much  stuck  on  walkin'  when  I  can  ride," 
he  admitted.  "  I'm  goin'  to  Bentley's." 

"  Why  don't  you  go  to  Dodd's?  "  asked  the  genial 
Daniel,  with  the  air  of  a  disinterested  party  who 
hated  to  see  even  a  stranger  make  a  mistake.  "  It's 
nearer,  you  know." 

"Who's  Dodd?"  asked  the  man. 

"  Oh,  Dodd's  a  queer  old  fellow  who'll  hitch  up 
and  drive  ten  miles  any  day  rather  than  have  a 
man  who's  coming  to  work  for  him  get  all  tired 
out  on  the  way.  Dodd's  a  little  peculiar,  and  he 
likes  to  have  men  reach  his  place  good  and  fresh. 
You'll  be  all  rested  up  when  I  drop  you  at  Dodd's 
on  the  way  back." 


38  Delightful   Dodd 

"  How  much  does  Dodd  pay  ?  " 

"  Why,  he  pays  just  a  leetle  bit  more  than  Bent- 
ley  does,  and  he  keeps  his  good  men  right  through 
the  cherry  season  and  the  apple  season  and  all  the 
rest  of  it." 

"  Blamed  if  I  don't  think  Bentley  might  have  sent 
for  me,"  said  the  man,  undecided. 

"  Dodd  would,"  asserted  the  crafty  Daniel,  sol- 
emnly, "  and  he'll  send  you  back  when  you  want 
to  leave.  Dodd's  men  don't  have  to  walk." 

"  Does  Dodd  pay  you  for  getting  men  for  him  ?  " 
asked  the  man,  suspiciously. 

"  No.     I  do  it  for  love  of  Dodd." 

The  man  vaulted  lightly  over  the  wheel  and  into 
the  back  of  the  wagon. 

"  I'll  take  a  chance  with  Dodd,"  he  announced. 

"  All  right,"  said  Dodd,  cheerfully.    "  I'm  Dodd." 

For  a  moment  the  man  seemed  to  be  in  doubt. 
Then  he  laughed  long  and  loud. 

"  You  suit  me,"  he  said.  "  I  ain't  up  here  for 
my  health,  an'  I'll  work  for  Dodd." 

Dodd  turned  and  looked  at  him  thoughtfully  for 
a  moment. 

"  I  suppose,"  he  said,  "  you  wouldn't  let  me  tie 
you  up." 

"  Why  should  I  ?  "  demanded  the  man. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  insist,"  Dodd  hastened  to  explain. 


39 


"  But  I  wish  you'd  lie  down  in  the  wagon-box 
where  people  can't  see  you.  When  I  get  a  prize 
package,  I  don't  like  to  have  it  stolen  before  I  get 
home." 

The  man  studied  Dodd's  face,  and  finally  caught 
the  fleeting  smile.  Thereupon  he  passed  judgment 
with  the  words,  "  You're  all  right." 

"  But  I'm  sorry  about  Bentley,"  said  Dodd ; 
"  that  is,  I  am  commercially  sorry." 

"  What's  being  commercially  sorry  ?  "  inquired 
Leonard. 

"  Why,  when  you're  commercially  sorry  for  a 
man,  you're  just  sorry  enough  so's  not  to  let  it 
interfere  with  business.  You  say,  *  Too  bad  about 
poor  old  Jones ! '  and  then  you  reach  out  for  any- 
thing he  happens  to  have  that  you  want,  and  tell 
your  lawyer  to  jump  in  ahead  of  the  other  creditors. 
I'm  commercially  sorry  for  Bentley,  but  the  last 
time  he  had  the  chance  to  be  commercially  sorry 
for  me,  and  you  bet  he  was!  Still,  I  don't  think 
I'll  go  past  Bentley's  house  on  the  way  back." 

"  You  said  it  was  beyond  Dodd's,"  interrupted 
the  man. 

"  That,"  said  Dodd,  "  is  a  relic  of  my  old  literary 
habits.  It's  what  we  call  commercial  fiction." 


CHAPTER   V. 

LEONARD   AND   THE    BEE 

THE  new  man  was  slightly  below  medium  height 
and  stockily  built.  He  looked  like  a  good,  able- 
bodied  man,  and  the  unobserving  would  have  given 
him  no  second  thought,  but  Leonard  had  noted  the 
lightness  and  ease  with  which  he  vaulted  over  the 
side  of  the  wagon.  Leonard's  college  life  was  not 
so  far  behind  him  that  he  had  forgotten  how  to  dis- 
tinguish an  athlete,  and  to  him  every  movement  of 
this  man  conveyed  an  impression  of  power.  There 
were  indications  of  strength,  but  there  was  also 
more  than  strength.  The  strong  man  is  not  neces- 
sarily active. 

Dodd  broke  in  on  Leonard's  meditations  with  a 
question. 

"  Now  that  I've  got  you,"  he  said  to  the  man, 
"  I'd  like  to  know  what  to  call  you." 

"Call  me  'Ben/"  was  the  reply. 

"Ben  what?" 

"  I  don't  need  more'n  one  name." 
40 


Leonard  and  the  Bee  41 

"  Like  a  horse,"  suggested  Dodd,  and  Ben  looked 
troubled  until  he  caught  the  twinkle  of  an  eye. 
"  Of  course,"  Dodd  went  on,  "  one  name  is  enough 
for  all  ordinary  affairs,  but  it  wears  out  quick  that 
way,  and  it  gets  monotonous.  Now,  I'm  Dodd  and 
Mr.  Dodd  and  Daniel  Dodd  and  Dan  and  Dan'l. 
That  gives  enough  variety  to  keep  me  from  get- 
ting sick  of  myself.  If  I  was  Dodd  all  the  time, 
or  Dan  all  the  time,  I'd  feel  like  a  riddle  with  one 
string,  and  pretty  soon  I'd  go  crazy  for  want  of 
something  in  a  little  different  key.  Besides,  a  fel- 
low has  got  to  have  a  last  name  for  formal  occa- 
sions. You  couldn't  get  a  marriage  license  for  just 
Ben." 

Ben  was  busy  trying  to  fill  a  pipe,  as  the  wagon 
jolted  along,  but  this  suggestion  so  startled  him 
that  he  spilled  his  tobacco. 

"  I  don't  want  a  marriage  license !  "  he  exclaimed, 
worried. 

"  I  presume  not,"  said  Dodd. 

"  I  don't  want  a  wife,"  persisted  Ben. 

"  No?  "  returned  Dodd.  "  Well,  a  man's  wishes 
in  that  respect  are  of  trifling  importance  if  some 
smart  woman  happens  to  decide  that  he  will  make 
a  good  husband." 

"  She'd  have  to  be  pretty  smart  to  get  me,"  said 
Ben. 


42  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Comparatively  smart,"  said  Dodd. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  Why,  a  woman  is  comparatively  smart  when 
she's  smarter  than  a  man,  but  she  isn't  considered 
real  smart  unless  she's  smarter  than  another 
woman."  Then  after  a  pause :  "  All  women  are 
comparatively  smart." 

After  Ben  had  considered  this  for  a  few  minutes 
and  decided  that  it  was  too  deep  for  him,  he  sur- 
rendered and  announced  that  his  last  name  was 
Ackerman. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Dodd.  "  If  I  didn't  know 
your  full  name,  I  couldn't  put  it  on  a  check  or  a 
deed  to  the  farm  when  you  get  ready  to  leave. 
Sometimes  I  think  it  would  be  easier  to  put  it  on 
a  deed,  but  the  help  don't  seem  to  want  the  bother 
of  looking  after  the  farm." 

"  You  may  have  labour  troubles  of  one  kind," 
laughed  Leonard,  "  but  you  escape  the  domestic 
problem  of  the  city." 

"Do  we?"  returned  Dodd.  "Well,  looking  at 
it  in  one  way,  perhaps  we  do.  Up  here  we  don't 
have  any  domestics.  Sometimes,  by  using  a  little 
diplomacy,  we  get  a  girl  to  help  us  out,  just  as  an 
accommodation,  but  she  isn't  a  domestic;  she's  a 
friend  of  the  family.  We  have  to  be  mighty  careful 
how  we  treat  her.  She's  one  of  us,  and  she  makes 


Leonard  and  the  Bee  43 

us  understand  that  she  doesn't  have  to  work,  and 
is  only  doing  it  as  a  favour  to  us,  and  we're  ex- 
pected to  be  properly  grateful.  But  I  notice  she 
takes  the  money  just  the  same.  Now,  down  in  the 
city,  you're  establishing  domestic  science  schools, 
but,  as  near  as  I  can  make  out,  the  daughters  of  the 
wealthy  are  the  ones  who  are  going  to  them,  and 
I've  been  wondering  just  how  that's  going  to  work 
out.  The  girls  who  ought  to  know  how  to  cook 
are  too  proud  to  learn,  and  the  girls  who  have 
money  enough  to  employ  cooks  are  anxious  to  get 
the  instruction.  It  worried  me  a  little,  but  I  think 
I  see  a  solution  of  the  problem  now." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Leonard.  "If  you  can 
solve  that  problem  your  fortune  is  made." 

"  It's  easy,"  explained  Dodd.  "  The  girls  who 
have  to  earn  their  own  living  won't  learn  to  cook, 
but  they'd  make  almost  any  sacrifice  for  a  chance 
to  equip  themselves  for  the  ballroom  and  the  par- 
lour. Therefore,  instead  of  arranging  to  give  cook- 
ing diplomas,  there  should  be  a  system  of  instruc- 
tion in  etiquette  for  the  girls  who  seek  domestic 
employment.  Then,  when  Mrs.  and  Miss  Croesus 
desired  to  give  a  fine  luncheon,  they  would  go  into 
the  kitchen  themselves,  and  send  Bridget  and  Han- 
nah into  the  parlour  to  entertain  the  guests." 

Even  Ben  Ackerman  saw  the  point  of  this,  and, 


44  Delightful  Dodd 

by  the  time  he  was  through  laughing  at  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  idea,  Dodd  had  turned  into  a  lane 
and  stopped  before  a  barn.  Ben  sprang  to  the 
ground  instantly,  but  Dodd  passed  the  reins  to 
Leonard  and  left  him  on  the  seat  of  the  wagon. 

"  If  you'll  excuse  me  a  moment,"  said  Dodd, 
"  I'll  go  in  and  thank  this  fellow  for  the  privilege 
of  being  allowed  to  loan  him  my  tools  and  then 
take  this  long  ride  on  a  busy  day  to  get  them  again." 

Just  at  that  moment  a  man,  with  his  head  en- 
veloped in  mosquito-netting,  appeared  at  the  door 
of  the  barn,  and  with  him  came  a  few  aggressive 
bees. 

"  Better  drive  those  horses  along,"  called  the  man. 
"  I'm  extracting  the  honey,  and  the  bees  don't  feel 
good  about  it." 

"  Drive  down  the  road  a  bit,"  said  Dodd  to 
Leonard,  but  just  at  that  moment  a  bee  made  a 
dart  for  Leonard's  head,  and  the  young  man 
dropped  the  reins  to  wave  his  arms  frantically. 

"Don't  do  that!"  cried  Dodd. 

"  Keep  still !  keep  still ! "  yelled  the  man  at  the 
barn  door. 

"  That  only  excites  the  bee !  "  added  Dodd. 

"  Well,  the  bee  excites  me !  "  retorted  Leonard. 
He  had  his  hat  off  now  and  was  waving  that.  The 
bee  would  circle  just  out  of  reach  and  then  dart 


Leonard  and  the  Bee  45 

in  suddenly,  and  Leonard  would  endeavour  to  hit 
it  with  his  hat.  Neither  scored. 

"  I'll  bet  on  the  bee! "  exclaimed  Dodd. 

"  Look  out  for  the  horses !  "  cautioned  the  man 
at  the  barn.  "  That  ain't  the  only  bee  on  the  place." 

"  Drive  on !  "  cried  Dodd. 

"What  with  —  my  feet?"  asked  Leonard,  still 
deeply  absorbed  in  his  duel  with  the  bee. 

"  That  fellow's  going  to  get  you,  if  he  can,"  as- 
serted the  man  at  the  barn,  with  the  critical  air  of 
an  authority  who  had  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
case. 

"  Do  you  think  I  don't  know  that  ? "  retorted 
Leonard. 

"  You've  got  him  mad !  "  said  Dodd,  in  a  re- 
proachful tone. 

"  He's  got  me  mad !  "  shouted  Leonard. 

Ben  Ackerman  had  backed  away  at  the  opening 
of  hostilities.  As  he  afterward  explained,  he  was 
no  coward,  but  bees  were  not  in  his  line,  and  he 
expected  more  to  follow.  But,  however  the  other 
bees  may  have  felt  about  being  disturbed,  this 
seemed  to  be  the  only  one  that  had  outlined  a  def- 
inite course  of  action.  Ackerman,  finding  that  there 
was  to  be  no  general  engagement  that  would  call 
for  action  on  his  part,  thereupon  surrendered  to  the 
excitement  of  watching  this  contest. 


46  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Hit  him !  hit  him !  "  he  yelled,  jumping  up  and 
down.  "  Now  you've  got  him !  Look  out !  he's 
going  to  land  on  the  point  of  your  jaw !  He's  be- 
hind you !  Guard  your  left  ear !  You  hit  him !  you 
hit  him !  No,  you  didn't !  Aw,  cut  and  run  for  it ! 
He's  too  much  of  a  featherweight  for  you ! " 

With  one  final  sweep  of  his  hat  to  drive  the  bee 
back,  Leonard  sprang  from  the  wagon. 

"  Run  for  the  house !  "  cried  the  man  at  the  barn. 
"  Mary,  open  the  door !  " 

The  shouts  and  cries  had  already  brought  Mary 
to  the  scene,  and  she  hastily  threw  open  the  screen- 
door  to  the  kitchen.  But  Leonard  and  the  bee  ar- 
rived there  at  the  same  time,  and  Leonard  couldn't 
see  how  he  was  to  gain  anything  by  taking  the  bee 
into  the  house,  so  he  veered  suddenly  and  went 
down  the  lane  to  the  main  road.  Ben  Ackerman 
followed,  yelling:  "Hit  him!  hit  him!"  And 
then,  gaining  in  aggressiveness,  "  Let  me  get  a 
chance  at  him !  " 

"  Come  and  get  it ! "  cried  Leonard,  as,  with 
waving  hat  and  arms,  he  struck  the  main  road  and 
disappeared  in  a  gully.  Dodd  and  the  man  at  the 
barn  stood  looking  after  them,  as  they  came  out 
of  the  gully  and  continued  down  the  road,  still  fol- 
lowed by  Ackerman. 

"  He's  got  lots  of  speed,"  remarked  the  man. 


Leonard  and  the  Bee  47 

"  So  has  the  bee,"  returned  Dodd. 

Then  they  saw  Leonard  and  Ackerman  coming 
back  at  a  slow  walk,  fanning  themselves  with  their 
hats. 

"  If  I  was  a  betting  man,"  said  Dodd,  drily,  "  I'd 
bet  that  they've  lost  the  bee." 

And  so  it  proved. 

"  I  struck  some  brush,"  explained  Leonard,  "  and 
the  next  thing  I  knew  the  bee  was  gone." 

"  You  ought  to  have  taken  to  the  bushes  the  first 
thing,"  said  Dodd.  "  I  could  have  told  you  that 
a  bee  can  only  follow  in  the  open." 

"Why  didn't  you?"  demanded  Leonard. 

"  Well,"  replied  Dodd,  "  the  spirit  in  which  you 
took  the  few  suggestions  I  made  didn't  encourage 
me  to  make  any  more.  I  couldn't  see  any  indica- 
tions of  gratitude  for  my  well-meant  efforts." 

"  Wait  till  I  get  a  chance  to  throw  some  pieces 
of  advice  at  you,"  laughed  Leonard. 

"  Even  if  the  bee  had  got  you,"  put  in  the  man 
at  the  barn,  "  you  would  have  got  revenge.  A  bee 
kills  itself  when  it  stings,  for  the  sting  tears  away 
a  part  of  the  bee  itself  when  the  barb  catches.  To 
sting  you  meant  death  to  the  bee." 

"  That's  why  he  ran,"  chuckled  Dodd.  "  He  did 
it  all  for  the  bee.  He  wasn't  thinking  of  himself, 
but  he's  so  tender-hearted  he  couldn't  bear  to  kill 


48  Delightful  Dodd 

the  bee.     Why,  he  wouldn't  sleep  to-night  if  he 
thought  he'd  killed  a  bee." 

Leonard    thought    of    the    sting,    and    promptly 
agreed  with  the  latter  part  of  this  statement. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RETURNING        AND 
DEPARTING  GUESTS 

WITH    the    re- 
turn     of      Jessie 
Marsden   and  her 
sister,   Mrs.   Con- 

grove>  there  was 

an  exodus  of  some 
of  the  other  board- 
ers, but  Dodd  was  imperturbable,  although  it  meant 
a  great  deal  to  him.  Some  had  engaged  accommo- 
dations for  a  definite  period,  but  he  let  them  go 
without  a  word. 

"  I  never  tried  to  hold  any  one  here  against  his 
will  yet,"  he  said,  "  and  I  never  shall,  —  that  is, 
except  Ben  Ackerman,  and  up  here  we  look  on  help 
in  the  fruit  season  as  property  rather  than  people. 
It's  all  right  to  hang  on  to  your  property." 

Thus,  even  when  things  seemed  to  be  going 
wrong,  he  was  the  same  Daniel  Dodd,  with  the 
same  quaint  humour.  And  to  the  people  who  were 
going  he  was  a  greater  enigma  than  ever.  A  death 

49 


50  Delightful   Dodd 

at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  they  held,  was 
enough  to  cast  a  gloom  over  the  whole  place  for 
the  whole  summer,  and  the  presence  of  the  widow, 
no  matter  how  much  she  secluded  herself,  would 
be  a  constant  reminder  of  that  which  they  would 
wish  to  forget.  Nevertheless,  while  they  were  able 
to  justify  their  course  to  themselves,  some  of  them 
expected  an  objection  from  Dodd.  But  he  was 
as  cheerfully  accommodating  in  the  matter  of  their 
departure  as  he  had  been  on  the  occasion  of  their 
arrival. 

"  It's  costing  you  quite  a  bit,"  Leonard  ventured 
to  suggest. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied,  slowly,  "  but  it's  worth  the 
price." 

"What's  worth  the  price?" 

"  This  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  I  am  run- 
ning my  own  place  in  my  own  way,"  replied  Dodd. 

However,  Jessie  Marsden  noted  the  fact  that  of 
the  twelve  or  fourteen  people  who  had  come  there 
for  the  summer,  all  but  four  or  five  left.  Such 
movements  are  contagious.  Let  two  or  three  decide 
to  go,  discussing  and  explaining  their  reasons  on 
every  possible  occasion,  and  presently  others  will 
become  restless.  In  this  case,  if  Dodd  could  have 
got  the  first  three  out  of  the  house  in  the  night, 
the  moment  their  decision  was  made,  he  might  easily 


Returning  and  Departing  Guests     51 

have  kept  the  others,  but  this,  of  course,  was  im- 
possible. And  Jessie  Marsden  was  quick  to  under- 
stand the  cause  of  the  exodus. 

It  had  not  occurred  to  her  that  it  would  make 
the  slightest  difference  to  the  other  guests  whether 
she  and  her  sister  were  there  or  not.  Mrs.  Con- 
grove  needed  quiet  and  rest,  and  the  money  imme- 
diately available  was  very  little.  There  might  be 
more  later  or  there  might  not,  according  to  the 
lawyer  who  was  trying  to  straighten  out  a  serious 
tangle  in  her  late  husband's  affairs.  Miss  Marsden 
had  only  a  trifling  personal  income,  and  conse- 
quently was  not  able  to  do  much  for  her  sister's 
financial  relief,  and  she  knew  of  but  one  place  that 
was  suited  to  their  needs  and  their  resources.  Un- 
questionably, there  were  others,  but  of  this  one  only 
was  she  sure.  In  fact,  the  situation  was  precisely 
as  Dodd  had  surmised  when  they  sent  word  that 
they  wished  to  come  back.  And  Miss  Marsden 
could  see  no  reason  why  their  presence  should 
trouble  or  annoy  any  one  else.  They  had  no  wish 
to  be  a  check  on  the  other  boarders;  they  spent 
as  much  time  in  the  open  air  as  Mrs.  Congrove's 
strength  would  permit;  they  kept  to  their  own 
room  in  the  evenings,  and  they  met  the  others,  as 
a  general  thing,  only  in  the  dining-room.  Yet  Miss 
Marsden  soon  realized  that  their  return  had  done 


52  Delightful   Dodd 

a  real  injury  to  Daniel  Dodd,  and  she  was  corre- 
spondingly unhappy  about  it. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  she  said  to  him  frankly  one  day, 
"  I  fear  we  have  inadvertently  done  you  a  great  deal 
of  harm  by  returning." 

"  Entirely  wrong,"  replied  Dodd,  unhesitatingly. 
"  I  was  worrying  a  little  about  Mrs.  Dodd,  and 
I'm  glad  to  have  her  relieved  of  some  of  the  work. 
We  expected  to  have  more  help  when  we  made  our 
plans  for  the  summer." 

Jessie  Marsden  knew  that  Daniel  Dodd  lied  de- 
liberately, but  she  also  knew  that  she  could  do  noth- 
ing more  unkind  than  to  let  him  know  that  she  saw 
through  his  little  fiction. 

"  For  myself,"  added  Dodd,  "  I  always  feel  bet- 
ter satisfied  when  a  party  gets  down  to  the  few 
that  we  really  like." 

Miss  Marsden,  knowing  nothing  of  Dodd,  was 
bewildered.  She  had  not  expected  to  find  a  courtier 
in  this  old  man,  who  dressed  and  looked  much  like 
any  other  farm-hand.  He  seemed  suddenly  to  grow 
and  change;  she  looked  through  the  farmer  and 
saw  the  man,  with  his  quiet,  unassuming  consid- 
eration for  herself  and  her  sister,  and  his  generous 
way  of  stating  the  case.  But  that  only  made  it 
seem  the  more  imperative  that  they  should  relieve 
him  of  any  embarrassment 


Returning  and  Departing  Guests     53 

"  My  sister  and  I,"  she  said,  with  the  same  cheer- 
fulness that  he  had  lied  to  her  a  moment  before, 
"  have  been  thinking  of  leaving.  She  —  she  is  not 
going  to  be  happy  here." 

"Would  she  be  happy  anywhere  just  now?" 
asked  Dodd,  quietly. 

"  No,  no,  of  course  not,"  Miss  Marsden  answered, 
disconcerted.  "  I  didn't  mean  that,  but  —  " 

The  resourceful  young  woman,  upon  whom  oth- 
ers always  had  relied,  was  plainly  perturbed  by  the 
earnest  look  of  those  kindly  eyes.  Wishing  only 
to  be  as  considerate  of  him  as  he  had  been  of  them, 
she  felt  as  if  she  had  been  caught  in  some  discred- 
itable trick,  and  she  blushed.  She  knew  that  she, 
always  so  ready,  had  bungled  this  time. 

"  Mrs.  Dodd  and  I,"  said  Dodd,  removing  his 
hat  and  bowing  gravely,  —  an  action  that  savoured 
of  old-time  courtesy,  —  "  will  be  much  hurt  if  you 
leave  us.  We  shall  feel  that  we  have  failed  some- 
how in  our  duty  as  hosts."  Then  he  added,  inci- 
dentally :  "  No  one  is  coming  back,  anyway." 

That  was  the  deciding  argument.  Even  if  they 
could  leave  in  the  face  of  his  expressed  wish  that 
they  remain,  their  departure  now  would  help  mat- 
ters in  no  way,  for  the  harm  had  been  done. 

Miss  Marsden  went  back  to  her  sister,  feeling 
that  she  had  unexpectedly  discovered  a  splendid 


54  Delightful  Dodd 

specimen  of  the  true  gentleman.  She  said  nothing 
of  her  conversation,  for  she  had  acted  on  her  own 
responsibility  and  did  not  wish  to  worry  Mrs.  Con- 
grove.  The  latter  was  weak,  listless,  and  depressed. 
She  was  lying  in  a  hammock,  where  she  spent  most 
of  her  time  when  not  in  her  room,  but  the  course 
she  had  followed  did  not  suit  the  energetic  Jessie. 

"  The  way  to  gain  strength  is  to  do  something," 
the  latter  held.  "  The  way  to  gain  happiness  is 
to  do  something.  Idleness  never  yet  drove  grief  or 
sorrow  from  any  heart." 

So  Jessie,  acting  on  this  idea  without  putting 
it  into  spoken  words,  gently  insisted  upon  occasional 
short  strolls  that  would  not  overtax  her  sister's 
strength.  She  insisted  upon  one  now,  and  presently 
they  found  themselves  in  front  of  a  small  building 
where  cherries  were  being  sorted  and  packed. 

"  I  should  think  that  would  be  fun !  "  exclaimed 
Jessie. 

"  Let's  rest  here  a  moment,  anyway,"  said  Mrs. 
Congrove,  seating  herself  on  a  box  by  the  door. 
"  I  like  to  watch  them." 

Jessie  stood  beside  her  and  watched,  also,  and  a 
short  distance  back  of  her,  unobserved,  stood  Leon- 
ard. But  Leonard  was  watching  the  young  woman 
and  not  the  workers.  He  noted  the  restless  move- 
ment of  her  fingers  and  the  deep  interest  she  took 


Returning  and  Departing  Guests     55 

in  all  that  was  going  on.  He  saw  her  look  at  Mrs. 
Dodd,  who  was  superintending  operations,  with  an 
appeal  in  her  bright  eyes. 

"  By  thunder !  "  he  ejaculated  to  himself.  "  She 
wants  to  go  to  work." 

Leonard,  idly  smoking,  could  not  understand  any 
one  wishing  to  work  for  the  mere  sake  of  working. 
He  would  work  to  gain  some  desired  end,  but 
leisure  was  much  more  in  his  line.  He  was  not 
afraid  of  work,  but  he  saw  no  pleasure  in  it,  and 
it  never  had  been  necessary.  Consequently,  he 
merely  had  a  profession  to  which  he  gave  no  atten- 
tion and  from  which  he  derived  no  income.  He 
did  not  even  have  to  worry  over  investments,  for 
all  he  had  was  in  the  stock  of  a  single  concern  with 
which  his  father  had  been  connected  previous  to 
his  death,  and  the  dividends  were  regular  and  rea- 
sonably good.  Yet,  unable  to  understand,  Leonard 
nevertheless  had  judged  Jessie  Marsden  rightly: 
she  wanted  to  be  one  of  the  workers,  and,  even  as 
he  watched,  she  spoke  to  Mrs.  Dodd,  and  the  latter 
laughed  and  procured  a  big  apron.  A  moment 
later  the  young  woman  was  as  busy  as  the  rest. 

"  Now  what  do  you  think  of  that !  "  Leonard 
remarked  to  himself. 

Then  he  noted  that  Mrs.  Congrove  was  betraying 
more  than  customary  interest  in  the  proceedings. 


56  Delightful  Dodd 

She  was  absorbed  in  the  progress  her  sister  was 
making,  compared  with  the  experts.  Her  eyes 
brightened  a  little  and  she  looked  at  her  own  hands 
speculatively. 

"  Mrs.  Dodd,"  she  called  at  last,  "  do  you  think 
I  could  do  a  little  —  just  a  little?" 

Jessie  smiled  happily  at  this  evidence  of  awakened 
interest,  trifling  as  it  was,  and  Mrs.  Dodd  hastened 
to  arrange  matters  for  the  new  worker.  Jessie 
felt  that  real  progress  had  been  made;  she  did  not 
believe  in  brooding. 

Then  a  strange  thing  happened.  Leonard,  the 
idler,  suddenly  discovered  that  he  wanted  to  help. 
He  could  not  understand  it,  but  he  certainly  wanted 
a  place  with  the  others,  and  it  would  be  especially 
pleasing  if  that  place  happened  to  be  next  to  Jessie 
Marsden.  He  battled  with  this  extraordinary  im- 
pulse for  a  few  moments ;  he  tried  to  convince  him- 
self that  he  was  mistaken  as  to  his  inclination  and 
would  get  himself  into  an  unpleasant  predicament. 
It  was  of  no  use.  He  watched  the  quick  Jessie  and 
her  slower  sister;  he  heard  them  laugh  over  their 
blunders  and  awkwardness  while  accustoming  them- 
selves to  the  work;  he  could  see  that  they  found 
real  pleasure  in  this  very  commonplace  occupation, 
and  he  was  irresistibly  impelled  to  try  it  himself. 

"Don't  you  think  I  could  be  of  some  use?"  he 


Returning  and  Departing  Guests     57 

asked,  throwing  away  his  cigar  and  advancing  to 
the  shed. 

"  Oh,  you  don't  want  to  bother  with  this  sort  of 
thing,"  returned  Mrs.  Dodd. 

"But  I  do,"  he  insisted.  "Can't  I  help  you, 
Miss  Marsden?  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  strong  enough  to  handle  cherries 
alone,"  she  answered,  provokingly. 

"  This  isn't  the  kind  of  work  to  interest  a  man," 
added  Mrs.   Dodd.     "  You'd  get  tired  of  it  very ' 
soon." 

"  And  want  to  smoke,"  suggested  Miss  Marsden, 
maliciously.  "  Now,  if  you  could  sort  cherries  in 
a  hammock  or  a  reclining-chair  without  letting 
it  interfere  with  the  enjoyment  of  your  cigar  — " 

They  all  laughed,  for  Leonard's  laziness  had  be- 
come a  sort  of  standing  joke.  Leonard  laughed, 
too,  but  he  did  not  press  the  point,  and  presently 
strolled  away. 

"  That's  what  reputation  does  for  a  fellow,"  he 
mused.  "  When  I  want  to  do  something,  I  can't, 
because  I  never  have  done  anything.  But  think 
of  wanting  to  sort  cherries  for  fun  and  being  dis- 
appointed because  I  can't.  There  must  be  some- 
thing wrong  with  me.  Perhaps  industry  is  con- 
tagious !  " 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AT  TERRACE  COTTAGE 

"HAVE  you  been  down  to  Terrace  Cottage?" 
asked  Leonard,  when  he  found  Miss  Marsden  and 
her  sister  under  the  big  maple  later  in  the  day. 

"  We  haven't  tried  to  go  anywhere  yet,"  replied 
Miss  Marsden,  busy,  as  always,  with  some  fancy 
work. 

"  But  you  must  see  Terrace  Cottage,"  urged 
Leonard.  "  It's  one  of  the  features  of  the  place." 

"  Is  it  so  wonderful  ?  "  inquired  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  The  cottage  itself  is  not  so  wonderful,"  replied 
Leonard,  "  but  it's  the  only  existing  feature  of 
Dodd's  most  wonderful  summer-resort  plans.  You 
must  get  him  to  tell  you  about  those  plans  some 
day." 

"  Why  doesn't  he  carry  them  out  ?  "  asked  Miss 
Marsden. 

"  Why  don't  I  go  to  Europe  on  my  steam- 
yacht?"  retorted  Leonard,  laughing. 

"Well,  why  don't  you?" 
58 


At  Terrace   Cottage  59 

"  Because  I  can't  pay  for  the  yacht."  Then  he 
added :  "  Dodd  certainly  has  original  ideas  and 
wonderful  plans.  If  he  had  a  few  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars,  I  can  see  only  one  reason  why 
he  could  not  make  this  a  famous  resort." 

"  What's  the  one  reason  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  He  has  so  many  and  such  elaborate  plans  that 
he  wouldn't  know  where  to  begin.  Terrace  Cot- 
tage is  a  mere  incident  in  them." 

"  I'm  becoming  interested,"  said  Mrs.  Congrove. 
"  Do  you  suppose  it  would  tire  me  too  much  to 
walk  to  this  cottage?" 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  assist  you,"  said  Leonard. 

"  We  can  stop  for  a  rest  if  you  get  tired,"  sug- 
gested Miss  Marsden. 

"  I'll  try  it,"  Mrs.  Congrove  decided. 

The  peninsula  that  runs  out  into  Grand  Traverse 
Bay  rises  in  great  terraces  from  the  water,  and  these 
terraces  continue  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 
In  some  places  there  is  a  sheer  drop  only  a  few 
feet  from  the  shore,  and  in  others  one  may  wade 
a  considerable  distance  out  before  reaching  the  edge 
of  the  submerged  terrace.  But  it  is  there,  and  pre- 
sumably there  are  others  beyond.  In  brief,  the 
peninsula  is  a  huge  flight  of  steps  rising  out  of 
Grand  Traverse  Bay,  —  a  sort  of  elongated  pyra- 
mid with  a  very  uneven  top,  —  and  where  the  Dodd 


60  Delightful   Dodd 

farm  stood  there  were  three  terraces,  designated 
upper,  middle,  and  lower,  before  the  bay  was 
reached.  A  steep  and  tortuous  road  led  down  to 
the  water,  with  roads  branching  out  at  right  angles 
on  each  terrace. 

Reaching  the  middle  terrace  in  leisurely  fashion, 
the  three  rested  a  few  minutes,  and  then  sauntered 
northward  along  the  winding  road  on  this  terrace. 
The  big,  straight  trees  came  right  to  the  edge  of 
the  road,  the  tortuous  nature  of  which  made  it 
impossible  to  see  more  than  a  few  feet  ahead.  Thus 
they  came  upon  the  cottage  suddenly,  so  deeply  hid- 
den was  it.  Yet,  when  they  reached  it,  it  seemed 
extraordinary  that  it  could  be  so  concealed.  It 
was  not  a  small  cottage,  by  any  means,  having  two 
stories  and  an  attic  and  a  total  of  nine  rooms,  while 
behind  it  stood  a  barn  and  wagon-shed.  Neverthe- 
less, these  buildings  were  so  placed  that  there  was 
no  hint  of  their  presence  until  one  was  almost  upon 
them,  although,  being  on  the  edge  of  the  middle 
terrace,  there  was  a  good  water  view  over  the  tops 
of  the  trees  on  the  terrace  below. 

Miss  Marsden  and  Mrs.  Congrove  gave  exclama- 
tions of  astonishment  when  the  cottage  dawned  on 
their  view. 

"  I  thought  we  were  still  in  the  deep  woods !  " 
cried  Miss  Marsden. 


At  Terrace  Cottage  6 1 

"  You  are,"  replied  Leonard.  "  There  is  noth- 
ing for  more  than  a  mile  ahead,  and  nothing  nearer 
than  the  Dodd  farmhouse  behind.  If  you  want  soli- 
tude within  reach  of  the  comforts  of  civilization, 
here  is  the  place  to  get  it.  If  I  can  get  a  congenial 
party  to  come  with  me,  which  I  can't,  I'll  take  this 
house  next  year." 

"  Why  can't  you?  "  asked  Miss  Marsden,  as  she 
and  her  sister  sat  down  on  the  steps  to  rest. 

"  Oh,  my  friends  are  the  friends  of  the  city," 
replied  Leonard,  regretfully.  "  They  want  excite- 
ment and  lively  times.  Saratoga  is  the  place  for 
them." 

"Or  Newport?"  suggested  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  Oh,  no.  Newport  is  too  exclusive.  You  have 
to  have  your  own  cottage  there,  or  else  derive  some 
satisfaction  from  merely  being  where  society  is. 
We're  not  tuft-hunters ;  we  don't  care  any  more  for 
the  Vanderbilts  and  the  Goelets  and  the  Bradley- 
Martins  than  they  do  for  us;  but  we  are  as  weak 
as  they  in  being  insufficient  for  ourselves.  We  must 
pay  others  for  our  entertainment;  we're  poor  in 
resources;  we  have  not  learned  the  joys  of  quiet 
and  solitude ;  so,  if  we  are  not  rich  enough  to  bring 
excitement  to  us,  we  must  go  where  excitement 
is." 

"  I  fear  you  malign  yourself  unjustifiably,"  said 


62  Delightful  Dodd 

Miss  Marsden,  "  for  you  have  come  here  where 
there  is  nothing  going  on." 

"  Because  I'm  venturesome,"  explained  Leonard. 
"  I'm  trying  to  break  the  ennui  of  excitement.  The 
others  feel  it,  but  they  seek  to  break  it  by  trying 
some  other  kind  of  excitement,  while  my  spirit  of 
investigation  has  led  me  to  try  the  other  extreme. 
Besides,  I  have  about  made  up  my  mind  to  do  some- 
thing, and  this  turning  from  the  old  ways  is  a  sort 
of  preliminary." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do?  "  asked  Miss  Mars- 
den. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  replied  Leonard,  languidly. 
"  I'm  taking  the  summer  to  think  it  over.  Can't 
you  suggest  something  ?  " 

"  If  Jessie  can't,  no  one  can,"  put  in  Mrs.  Con- 
grove.  "  Jessie  has  been  doing  things  all  her  life." 

"  There's  so  much  to  do,"  said  Miss  Marsden, 
"  that  I  don't  see  how  any  one  can  be  without  oc- 
cupation." 

"  But  you're  so  darned  energetic,"  argued  Leon- 
ard, plaintively,  "  that  people  just  naturally  give 
you  something  to  do.  Why,  you  brought  your 
fancy  work  down  here  with  you." 

"  And  you're  so  darned  lazy,"  retorted  Miss 
Marsden,  quickly,  "  that  people  who  want  things 
done  just  naturally  go  to  some  one  else." 


At  Terrace  Cottage  63 

While  this  was  said  in  a  spirit  of  raillery,  it  was 
so  true  a  hit  that  it  jarred  Leonard. 

"  Well,  you  see,  I  never  have  had  to  do  any- 
thing," he  explained.  "  While  I'm  not  rich,  I've 
always  had  all  the  money  I  needed,  and  there  isn't 
even  an  estate  to  look  after,  for  it's  all  in  the  stock 
of  one  concern  that  pays  regular  dividends.  I  got 
in  with  a  crowd  that  had  no  more  to  do  than  I, 
and  I've  just  drifted  along  ever  since.  But  I'm 
going  to  get  into  some  business  when  I  go  back 
to  the  city,  if  only  for  the  novelty  of  it." 

Miss  Marsden  looked  at  him  curiously,  as  if  he 
were  some  strange  animal. 

"  I  can't  comprehend  it,"  she  said.  "  I  would 
like  to  have  money  and  the  leisure  to  use  it  as 
seemed  to  me  best;  I  appreciate  the  pleasures  of 
life  as  much  as  any  one;  but  to  have  no  useful  oc- 
cupation would  drive  me  to  distraction.  I  don't 
see  how  any  one  can  be  happy  without  any  real 
interest  in  life." 

"  Perhaps  no  one  is,"  returned  Leonard,  thought- 
fully. "  Perhaps  the  people  whose  frivolities  we 
criticize  are  merely  striving  to  be  happy  —  and 
failing.  And  perhaps  they  are  failing  because  they 
don't  strive  the  right  way.  Anyhow,  I'm  going  to 
do  something." 

"When?" 


64  Delightful   Dodd 

"  Oh,  after  a  little." 

"  You  don't  know  when  or  what  ?  " 

"  No.  I'm  thinking  it  over.  You  see,  I've  never 
had  to  do  anything." 

Before  Miss  Marsden  could  reply,  there  was  a 
sound  of  wheels,  and  Daniel  Dodd  drove  up  to  the 
house. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Dodd,"  called  Miss  Marsden,  with  a 
malicious  glance  at  Leonard,  "  Mr.  Leonard  says 
he's  never  done  anything  because  he  never  had  to 
do  anything.  What  do  you  think  of  that?" 

Miss  Marsden  was  reasonably  sure  that  any  such 
statement  would  bring  an  interesting  reply  from 
Dodd,  and  Leonard  was  sharp  enough  to  see  that 
she  was  deliberately  putting  him  up  as  a  target. 

"  On  the  farm,"  said  Dodd,  in  his  deliberate  way, 
"  the  animal  that  doesn't  have  to  do  anything  is 
the  one  that  is  being  fattened  for  slaughter,  and  the 
only  way  it  can  escape  its  fate  is  to  become  active 
on  its  own  account.  Sometimes,  when  I  read  about 
the  way  inherited  fortunes  disappear,  it  seems  as 
if  that  was  the  way  the  thing  worked  on  the  human 
farm,  too." 

"  I  presume  that  means  that  I'm  being  fattened 
financially  for  the  benefit  of  some  city  sharper," 
laughed  Leonard,  although  two  such  hits  in  quick 


At  Terrace  Cottage  65 

succession  were  annoying.  "  I'll  have  to  go  to  work 
at  once." 

"  At  sorting  cherries  ?  "  asked  Miss  Marsden, 
whereupon  Leonard  gave  her  a  reproachful  look. 
But  he  saw  the  point:  something  more  strenuous 
was  expected  of  an  earnest  man.  His  one  ambition 
in  the  line  of  work  had  been  a  mere  trifling  whim. 

"  Would  you  like  to  see  the  inside  of  the  cot- 
tage?" asked  Dodd. 

"  Oh,  you  brought  the  keys  with  you !  "  exclaimed 
Miss  Marsden.  "  We  forgot  to  ask  for  them." 

"  I  never  lock  it,"  said  Dodd.  "  There's  no  use 
giving  the  man  who  wants  to  get  in  any  excuse  for 
damaging  the  property,  and  we  have  no  tramps  up 
here.  It  serves  only  as  a  refuge  in  case  of  sudden 
storm.  Come  in." 

Dodd  pushed  open  the  door,  and  the  others  fol- 
lowed him  in.  Mrs.  Congrove  did  not  go  above 
the  first  floor,  but  the  others  explored  every  corner 
of  it  —  for  which  Miss  Marsden  later  had  reason 
to  be  most  thankful. 

"  I  should  think  it  would  be  a  delightful  place  for 
the  summer !  "  she  commented,  when  they  had  re- 
turned to  the  little  front  porch. 

"  That  is  the  universal  opinion  of  all  but  the 
right  people,"  returned  Dodd. 


66  Delightful  Dodd 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  the  right  people  ? " 
asked  Leonard. 

"  The  people  who  are  financially  able  to  make  the 
right  use  of  it,"  replied  Dodd.  Then,  looking 
dreamily  out  over  the  waters  of  the  bay,  he  went 
on :  "  With  horses  and  a  steam-launch,  this  would 
seem  to  me  to  be  an  ideal  spot.  It  is  on  no  public 
road,  this  wood  road  being  my  own ;  it  is  quiet  and 
secluded,  and  yet  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
farm  buildings,  where  we  aim  to  keep  pretty  well 
stocked  up  with  everything  that  is  to  be  had  in  this 
locality.  There  would  be  fresh  milk  and  cream  and 
eggs  and  butter  and  fruit  and  vegetables  and  every- 
thing else  in  that  line,  and  yet  a  party  living  here 
might  well  imagine  itself  in  the  wilderness.  It 
would  be  a  rest  cure  within  easy  reach  of  all  reason- 
able comforts  and  pleasures.  Old  Mission  is  only 
a  few  miles  away  by  road,  and  not  many  miles  by 
water.  Traverse  City  is  not  out  of  reach  with  a 
steam-launch,  and  Neahtawanta  and  Elk  Rapids 
are  much  nearer.  There  are  points  of  interest  — 
of  historical  interest  —  all  about  here.  Any  one  at 
all  familiar  with  the  early  history  of  this  region 
could  easily  become  absorbed  in  pleasurable  explora- 
tions and  investigations,  which  horses  and  a  steam- 
launch  would  make  almost  limitless.  Of  course,  the 
ignorant  and  unobserving  would  find  it  dull,  except 


At  Terrace  Cottage  67 

as  they  were  able  to  touch  at  some  of  the  livelier 
resorts:  they  wouldn't  see  anything  interesting  in 
the  shortened  rifle-barrel  that  I  found  on  my  farm." 

"  Did  you?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"Would  you?"  retorted  Dodd,  with  a  quizzical 
smile. 

"No;  I  confess  a  shortened  rifle-barrel  would 
mean  nothing  to  me." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  conspiracy  of  Pon- 
tiac?"  asked  Dodd. 

"  It  has  a  sort  of  familiar  sound,"  replied 
Leonard. 

"  I  don't  remember  the  details,"  admitted  Miss 
Marsden,  "  and  I'm  sure  a  shortened  rifle-barrel 
would  not  recall  them  to  me." 

"  But  you  would  if  you  trained  yourself  to  see 
what  lies  behind  the  apparent  trifles  of  this  life," 
said  Dodd,  "  and  you'd  find  you  had  been  missing 
a  lot  of  pleasure  by  your  failure  to  trace  the  connec- 
tion between  one  thing  and  another.  When  I 
found  that  shortened  rifle-barrel,  I  saw,  in  imagina- 
tion, the  Indians  gathering  outside  the  fort  at 
Mackinaw  for  some  games;  I  saw  them  begin 
their  games  with  great  zest;  I  saw  the  men  lured 
from  the  fort  to  watch  the  contests;  I  saw  the 
Indians  gradually  working  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
fort;  I  saw  them  finally,  at  a  given  signal,  draw 


68  Delightful  Dodd 

the  shortened  guns  from  beneath  their  blankets, 
give  their  war-whoop,  and  fall  upon  the  fort  and 
its  defenders.  That's  the  story  the  shortened  rifle- 
barrel  told  me;  in  spirit  I  was  back  with  the  men 
at  Mackinaw  and  saw  what  happened.  The  Indians 
had  to  shorten  their  guns  to  conceal  them  under 
their  blankets." 

There  was  a  moment  of  thoughtful  silence.  Then 
Miss  Marsden  said,  with  frank  admiration  :  "  Every- 
thing here  seems  to  have  a  story  for  you,  Mr. 
Dodd." 

"  Everything  everywhere  has  a  story  for  the  man 
who  has  learned  to  read  it,"  replied  Dodd. 

"  If  all  could  find  stories  as  easily,  there'd  be 
little  for  the  writers  to  do,"  suggested  Leonard. 

"  The  writer  that  you  like  best,"  returned  Dodd. 
"  tells  you  a  story  that  you  already  knew,  but  never 
had  put  into  words.  When  you  recognize  his  char- 
acters or  his  incidents,  he  has  made  a  hit." 

"  That's  so,"  asserted  Leonard,  after  a  moment 
of  reflection. 

"  And  yet,"  continued  Dodd,  "  we  fail  to  give 
even  our  favourite  writers  the  full  reward  and  credit 
that  is  due  them." 

"  Some  stand  pretty  high  on  the  roll  of  fame, 
and,  in  these  days,  some  gain  a  pretty  good  store 
of  wealth,"  said  Leonard. 


At  Terrace  Cottage  69 

"  But  we  overlook  their  commercial  value,"  re- 
turned Dodd.  "  Now,  I  suppose  you  never  thought 
of  Walter  Scott  as  a  wonderful  commercial  suc- 
cess. You  give  him  all  due  literary  credit,  but  you 
can't  see  that  he  did  more  for  Scotland  commer- 
cially than  any  other  one  man  in  the  history  of  that 
country." 

"  I  confess  I  can't,"  admitted  Leonard. 

"  Yet  many  people  go  to  Scotland  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  visiting  scenes  that  Scott  made  famous 
in  his  novels,"  said  Dodd,  "  and  others,  being  in 
Scotland  for  other  purposes,  feel  that  they  have 
wasted  their  opportunities  if  they  do  not  visit  one 
or  more  of  these  scenes.  Scott,  dead,  is  drawing 
more  money  into  Scotland  than  any  dozen  living 
men  —  unless,"  he  added,  after  a  pause,  "  Carnegie 
carried  his  fortune  in  his  grip  when  he  went  to 
Skibo  Castle." 

They  had  to  laugh  at  this  quaint  conception  of 
Carnegie's  migration,  but  twinkling  eyes  gave  the 
only  indication  that  Dodd  saw  the  humour  of  the 
picture. 

"  Scott  did  for  Scotland  what  Washington  Ir- 
ving did  for  the  Hudson,"  he  added.  "  Both  added 
greatly  to  the  prosperity  and  development  of  the 
localities  in  which  their  fictional  characters  moved. 
Scott  unwittingly  bequeathed  a  handsome  living  to 


70  Delightful   Dodd 

many  Scots  and  wealth  to  some,  while  Irving  is 
even  now  putting  dividends  into  the  pockets  of  the 
owners  of  Hudson  River  steamboat  lines,  hotels, 
stage  lines,  and  railroads.  The  commercial  im- 
portance of  such  a  writer  is  greater  than  that  of 
any  captain  of  industry  that  ever  lived  and  bowed 
to  his  own  greatness  —  only  to  be  forgotten  a  few 
years  later." 

Miss  Marsden  looked  at  him  wonderingly. 

"  You  are  always  giving  us  surprises,  Mr.  Dodd," 
she  said.  "  We  never  know  what  is  coming  next." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Dodd,  bowing  gravely. 

"  You  consider  that  a  compliment  ?  "  she  queried. 

"  It  is  the  automaton  that  does  the  same  thing 
always  in  the  same  way,"  he  answered ;  "  it  is  the 
phonograph  that  says  the  same  thing  always  in  the 
same  way.  Neither  is  capable  of  thought,  and  it  is 
thought  that  gives  to  us  our  surprises.  I  should 
not  like  to  believe  myself  an  automaton  or  a  phono- 
graph." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

"  DODD'S   GERMANIA  " 

"  DID  you  drive  down  here  to  entertain  us,  Mr. 
Dodd?  "  asked  Miss  Marsden.  "  If  so,  it  was  very 
good  of  you." 

"  But  I  didn't,"  replied  Dodd.  "  I  drove  down 
here  to  drive  back.  I  had  just  returned  from  Old 
Mission  when  they  told  me  that  you  had  started  off 
in  the  direction  of  the  cottage,  and  I  thought  Mrs. 
Congrove  might  like  to  ride  back." 

"  Mr.  Leonard  assured  me  that  it  was  a  short 
and  easy  walk  to  the  cottage,"  explained  Mrs.  Con- 
grove. 

"  He  might  have  put  it  even  stronger,"  said  Dodd. 
"  It's  no  more  than  a  short  and  easy  roll  to  the 
cottage.  You  can  start  at  the  house  and  roll  down, 
but  you  can't  roll  back." 

"  I  don't  care  to  roll  either  way,  thank  you," 
laughed  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  Anyhow,"  asserted  Dodd,  "  you'll  find  it  easier 
going  up  in  my  one-horse  elevator." 

71 


72  Delightful   Dodd 

"  Then  we'd  better  be  going,"  said  Miss  Mars- 
den.  "  We  don't  want  to  keep  you  from  your 
work." 

"  If  you  consulted  my  inclinations,"  returned 
Dodd,  "  you  wouldn't  be  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  me 
back  to  it." 

"  I  thought  you  believed  in  work." 

"  I  do,  but  a  man  may  believe  in  a  thing  without 
wanting  a  monopoly  of  it.  I  never  was  a  monop- 
olist, although  I  succeeded  in  getting  a  corner  on 
a  pretty  fair  supply  of  work  by  beginning  at  five 
o'clock  this  morning.  However,  I  suppose  we 
might  as  well  be  starting,  for  it  takes  the  old  horse 
some  time  to  begin  to  get  ready  to  go."  He  led 
the  horse  up  to  the  steps,  and  Leonard  helped  Mrs. 
Congrove  into  the  buggy.  "  Now,  Miss  Marsden," 
Dodd  went  on,  "  I'm  going  to  entrust  the  manage- 
ment of  this  fiery  steed  to  you,  but  I  must  caution 
you  to  be  very  careful.  Don't  use  the  whip  on  him, 
because  you're  not  strong  enough  to  make  any 
impression.  Mr.  Leonard  and  I  will  walk  back." 

"  But  I  want  to  walk  myself,"  protested  Miss 
Marsden.  "You  don't  mind,  do  you,  Grade?" 

"  By  all  means,  walk  and  enjoy  the  woods," 
urged  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  It's  all  so  beautiful  and  refreshing,"  said  Miss 
Marsden,  apologetically. 


"  Dodd's  Germania  "  73 

"  I  can  take  you  back  by  the  prettiest  woodland 
path  you  ever  saw,"  Leonard  hastened  to  say. 

Leonard's  sudden  and  deep  interest  in  the  com- 
bination of  Miss  Marsden  and  that  path  was  not 
lost  on  Dodd.  He  looked  from  one  to  the  other, 
and  seemed  to  be  inwardly  chuckling  over  some 
huge  joke. 

"  All  right,"  he  said,  cheerfully.  "  You  jump 
in,  Leonard,  and  I'll  take  Miss  Marsden  back 
through  the  woodland  path.  You  might  get  lost." 

"  So  much  the  better ! "  exclaimed  Leonard, 
thoughtlessly. 

"  To  get  lost !  "  cried  Miss  Marsden.  "  No,  in- 
deed." 

"  I'd  be  delighted  to  drive  back  with  Mrs.  Con- 
grove,"  said  Leonard,  "  but  —  but  I'm  sure  she'd 
feel  safer  with  you,  for  you  know  the  horse." 

Then  a  strange  thing  happened.  Dodd  delib- 
erately winked  at  Mrs.  Congrove,  and  she,  grasp- 
ing the  meaning  of  that  wink,  had  to  smile.  Dodd 
was  enjoying  himself  at  the  'expense  of  Leonard. 

"  It's  very  good  of  you  to  be  so  considerate  of 
an  old  man,"  said  Dodd,  "  but  I'm  just  a  little 
sensitive  as  to  my  infirmities,  and  it  is  a  matter  of 
pride  with  me  now  to  show  you  that  I  can  walk 
back  without  unusual  fatigue." 

This  would  have  been  delicious  to  any  one  know- 


74  Delightful  Dodd 

ing  Dodd,  for,  although  well  along  in  years,  and 
in  no  sense  a  strong  man,  he  had  no  infirmities, 
He  listened  gravely  while  Leonard  protested  that 
he  had  intended  to  intimate  nothing  of  that  sort, 
and  had  not  even  thought  of  such  a  thing. 

"  Oh,  very  well,"  said  Dodd,  in  reply  to  this. 
"  Suppose  we  let  Miss  Marsden  settle  it  by  choos- 
ing her  escort." 

"  Oh,  I'm  entirely  impartial,"  Miss  Marsden  has- 
tened to  say,  nevertheless  showing  her  discomfiture 
by  a  blush.  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  either  of 
you." 

"  Then  let  Mrs.  Congrove  decide,"  said  Dodd, 
and  Mrs.  Congrove  was  sure  that  she  caught  an- 
other wink.  But  it  may  be  that  Mrs.  Congrove 
also  caught  the  quick  glance  that  her  sister  gave 
her.  At  any  rate,  after  a  moment  of  hesitation, 
she  announced  that  she  would  feel  a  little  bit  safer 
with  Mr.  Dodd. 

"  I  am  flattered,"  said  Dodd,  taking  his  place 
beside  Mrs.  Congrove.  Then  he  leaned  over  to 
say :  "  Don't  stop  too  long  at  the  green  arbour,  or 
linger  at  the  red  bench." 

"  Where  is  the  green  arbour  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  And  the  red  bench  ?  "  added  Miss  Marsden. 

"  In  the  prospectus  of  my  great  summer  resort," 
replied  Dodd. 


"Dodd's  Germania"  75 

"  And  the  prospectus  ?  "  queried  Leonard. 

"  In  my  mind."  Dodd  picked  up  the  reins,  but 
did  not  start  the  horse.  "  That's  going  to  be  a  great 
summer  resort,  Miss  Marsden,"  he  explained,  and 
there  was  something  of  regret  in  his  tone  —  the 
regret  of  a  man  with  a  dream  unfulfilled.  "  We 
have  a  big  place  here,  with  paths  and  roads  every- 
where. I  would  have  benches  and  little  arbours  at 
convenient  points,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  identi- 
fication, each  would  be  painted  a  different  colour. 
Think  how  it  would  simplify  matters  to  be  able 
to  say,  '  I'll  meet  you  at  the  white  arbour,'  instead 
of  trying  to  describe  it  as  the  third  arbour  on  the 
second  path  leading  from  the  lower  terrace  road. 
Oh,  mine  would  be  an  ideal  place  for  lovers." 

He  looked  at  Leonard  and  Miss  Marsden  reflec- 
tively, and  both  became  uncomfortable.  Dodd's 
sense  of  humour  was  too  strongly  developed,  they 
decided.  But  the  humour  was  kindly,  as  a  general 
thing;  he  would  not  really  distress  another  for  the 
world. 

"  There  would  be  fruit  everywhere  at  my  resort," 
he  went.  on.  "  When  people  go  into  the  fruit  coun- 
try, they  want  fruit  when  they  want  it;  it  is  not 
enough  to  serve  it  at  table.  There  would  always 
be  fruit  in  the  house  and  at  the  most  frequented 
places  on  the  grounds,  so  that  a  guest  might  help 


76  Delightful  Dodd 

himself  when  and  how  he  pleased.  Don't  you  think 
that  would  be  a  good  idea  ?  " 

"  Splendid,"  replied  Miss  Marsden.  "  Have  you 
any  other  plans?" 

"Well,  yes,"  replied  Dodd,  thoughtfully.  "It 
seems  to  me  there  ought  to  be  a  lot  of  money  in  a 
German  resort." 

"For  Germans  exclusively?" 

"  Not  at  all.  Rather  for  people  going  to  Ger- 
many. People  get  rich  suddenly  these  days,  and 
they  want  to  equip  themselves  for  a  foreign  tour. 
As  a  preliminary,  they  could  come  to  my  resort, 
where  nothing  but  German  would  be  spoken.  All 
the  employees  would  be  German;  the  language  of 
the  place  would  be  German,  and  there  would  be 
German  tutors  to  help  along  the  beginners.  It 
would  be  like  stepping  into  Germany  to  get  used 
to  it.  I'm  sure  there  are  lots  of  wealthy  people  who 
would  appreciate  a  place  like  that.  It  might  even 
become  a  fad." 

"  But  why  German  ?  "  asked  Leonard.  "  Why 
not  French  as  well?  Or  Italian?  Germany  is  not 
the  only  foreign  country  that  has  attractions  for 
travelling  Americans." 

"  No,"  replied  Dodd.  "  But  it  is  the  only  lan- 
guage, besides  English,  that  one  really  needs  to 
know,  and  the  far-seeing  man  will  not  forget  that 


"Dodd's  Germania"  77 

there  are  many  prosperous  Germans  in  this  country. 
They  would  like  to  have  their  children  spend  an 
occasional  summer  at  such  a  place  as  I  describe. 
In  fact,  I  would  rely  largely  on  the  children  for 
success.  Even  Americans  who  did  not  care  to  take 
up  German  themselves  would  be  disposed  to  send 
their  children  here  for  a  summer,  to  give  them  the 
practical  knowledge  of  the  language  that  is  not 
to  be  gained  from  books.  They'd  come  with  their 
governesses  or  their  tutors,  if  not  with  their  parents. 
Why,  in  imagination  I  can  hear  them  saying: 
'  We're  going  to  Dodd's  Germania  this  summer 
and  abroad  next  summer,'  or,  '  The  children  are 
at  Dodd's  Germania  putting  the  finishing  touches 
on  their  German.'  And  they'd  be  having  a  bully 
good  time  while  they  were  doing  it !  "  Dodd  added, 
with  an  enthusiasm  that  subsided  almost  as  soon 
as  it  appeared. 

"  Would  you  combine  all  these  plans,  or  have  two 
separate  resorts  ?  "  asked  Miss  Marsden,  with  gentle 
raillery. 

"  Oh,  while  I'm  about  it,"  said  Dodd,  picking  up 
his  whip,  "  I  might  as  well  have  three  or  four  re- 
sorts. All  they  cost  is  a  strain  on  the  imagination. 
The  man  who  isn't  rich  enough  to  buy  a  few  at 
that  price  is  poor  indeed,  no  matter  how  much 


78  Delightful  Dodd 

money  he  may  have.  I  wouldn't  trade  my  imag- 
ination for  his  wealth." 

"  Wait  a  minute !  "  Leonard  called,  as  Dodd  was 
about  to  drive  away.  "  I've  been  thinking  about 
that  shortened  rifle-barrel,  and  it  occurs  to  me  that 
it  told  you  a  fairy-tale.  This  farm  is  quite  a  dis- 
tance from  Mackinaw." 

Dodd  looked  at  the  young  man  pityingly. 

"  Was  it  your  idea,"  he  asked,  "  that  the  Indians 
left  their  guns  at  the  fort  for  souvenirs?  They 
lived  in  this  region." 

Leonard  subsided,  and  Dodd  touched  the  horse 
with  the  whip. 

"  Don't  linger  too  long  at  the  gray  bench !  "  he 
called  back,  "  and  you'd  better  not  stop  at  the  brown 
arbour  or  you  may  be  late  for  supper.  My  summer 
resort  is  devised  to  make  young  people  forget  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  time." 

A  moment  later  he  turned  to  Mrs.  Congrove  and 
said,  solemnly: 

"  There's  lots  of  fun  in  this  world  if  a  fellow  only 
knows  how  to  find  it." 

"  You  know  how,"  she  laughed,  as  she  caught 
the  twinkle  of  his  eyes,  and  pictured  to  herself  the 
discomfiture  of  her  sister  and  Leonard.  "  I  never 
knew  a  man  who  could  provide  so  much  harmless 
entertainment  for  himself  in  such  original  ways." 


"  Dodd's  Germania  "  79 

"  The  independent  man,"  returned  Dodd,  "  is  the 
man  who  can,  when  necessary,  live  within  himself. 
I  would  rather  be  independent  than  rich." 

Leonard  and  Miss  Marsden,  however,  did  not 
think  so  highly  of  Dodd's  humour  just  at  this  mo- 
ment. Leonard  especially  said  (to  himself)  harsh 
things  about  it.  If  he  had  known  Miss  Marsden 
better,  or  had  admired  her  less,  the  situation  would 
have  been  less  awkward.  As  it  was,  the  reference 
to  "  an  ideal  place  for  lovers  "  made  him  self-con- 
scious and  uncomfortable,  and  Miss  Marsden  her- 
self talked  in  rather  a  constrained  way  about  pretty 
nearly  everything  that  was  of  no  interest.  She 
seemed  to  be  afraid,  Leonard  thought,  that  he  might 
endeavour  to  take  advantage  of  the  situation  thus 
created,  which  he  deemed  no  compliment  to  him. 
All  in  all,  the  walk  through  the  woods  was  most 
unsatisfactory,  and  left  him  feeling  rebellious. 

"  I  think  I  shall  go  back  to  the  city,"  he  said, 
as  they  came  in  sight  of  the  house. 

"  When  ?  "  she  asked,  so  suddenly  that  it  caught 
him  unprepared  and  he  made  the  foolish  answer 
that  his  indolence  too  often  dictated. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know5,"  he  said,  meaning  that  he 
had  made  no  definite  plan. 

"  That's  when  you're  going  to  do  about  every- 
thing, isn't  it?"  she  inquired. 


8o  Delightful   Dodd 

He  resented  the  sally,  although  it  was  quite  in 
line  with  others  that  had  been  made  that  afternoon. 

"  I  shall  go  to-morrow,"  he  announced. 

"  Do  you  think  it  quite  fair  to  Mr.  Dodd?  "  she 
inquired.  "  He  has  lost  a  good  many  boarders  upon 
whom  he  felt  that  he  had  a  right  to  count." 

"  I  shall  pay  him  for  the  entire  season,"  said 
Leonard,  irritably. 

"  Do  you  think  he's  the  kind  of  a  man  who  would 
accept  money  offered  in  that  way?" 

"  Then  I  must  stay,"  he  remarked. 

"  My  impression  of  Mr.  Dodd,"  she  said,  "  is 
that  he  wouldn't  have  a  dissatisfied  boarder  at  any 
price." 

"  You  seem  to  find  objections  to  either  course." 

"  Yes,"  she  returned.  "  As  an  abstract  problem, 
it  interests  me.  The  situation  is  peculiar." 

"  Only  as  an  abstract  problem  ?  " 

He  said  this  without  thought.  Most  of  the  girls 
he  had  known  in  his  somewhat  frivolous  career 
had  rather  expected  a  mild  form  of  flirtation. 

"  What  possible  interest  could  it  have  for  me 
otherwise  ?  "  she  asked,  with  disconcerting  straight- 
forwardness. 

He  did  not  answer,  but  he  was  more  dissatisfied 
than  ever.  It  seemed  to  him  that  to  either  go  or 
stay  after  this  would  make  him  look  foolish.  He 


"  Dodd's  Germania  "  8l 

had  most  absurdly  and  unnecessarily  tangled  him- 
self up  in  a  problem  that  had  no  satisfactory  solu- 
tion, and  he  had  gained  nothing.  In  fact,  he  had 
a  feeling  that  she  regarded  him  with  a  certain  meas- 
ure of  contempt,  as  an  irrational  and  useless  weak- 
ling in  a  world  of  endeavour. 

"  The  day-labourer  must  be  her  ideal  of  a  man," 
he  told  himself,  and  a  man  does  not  tell  himself 
things  unless  he  cares  about  them.  Her  opinion 
was  of  importance. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   UNLICENSED   BARBER 

JESSIE  MARSDEN  regarded  Ralph  Leonard  as 
something  of  a  curiosity.  She  could  not  under- 
stand how  any  one  could  be  content  to  lead  such 
an  aimless  life.  He  was  gentlemanly,  entertaining, 
but,  from  her  point  of  view,  of  no  practical  worth 
except  as  a  problem.  As  such,  he  interested  her; 
she  liked  to  study  him,  but  she  gave  him  only  such 
thought  as  she  would  give  any  interesting  problem. 
He  was  generous,  but  his  generosity  cost  him  no 
personal  sacrifice.  How  would  it  be  in  other  cir- 
cumstances ? 

Ralph  Leonard  regarded  Jessie  Marsden  as  some- 
thing more  than  a  puzzle.  He  admired  her,  while 
admitting  that  her  aggressive  industry  irritated 
him:  he  wished  that  she  would  overlook  a  chance 
to  do  something  just  once.  It  annoyed  him  to 
find  that  this  spirit  of  industry  influenced  even  him, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  cherries,  and  yet,  rebelling, 

he  found  himself  attracted  to  the  very  cause  of 

82 


The  Unlicensed  Barber  83 

his  irritation.  Her  courage,  her  devotion  to  her 
sister,  all  appealed  to  him  strongly,  but  why  do 
work  that  was  wholly  unnecessary?  The  joy  of 
labour  well  done  never  yet  had  come  to  Leonard, 
as  was  quite  natural.  He  might  work  for  friend- 
ship or  for  fame  or  for  a  passing  whim  or  from 
necessity,  but  there  must  be  some  reason  or  reward 
to  spur  him  on;  in  the  work  itself  he  saw  nothing. 

Just  now  Leonard  was  confronted  by  a  very  dis- 
agreeable problem,  —  he  did  not  know  whether  to  go 
or  to  stay,  —  and  his  customary  indolence  led  him 
to  adopt  the  easiest  course :  he  let  things  drift.  He 
was  there;  he  would  stay,  at  least  temporarily. 
This  was  not  a  decision  so  much  as  it  was  a  lack 
of  decision ;  he  merely  put  the  whole  problem  aside 
and  went  on  to  the  next  question,  which  was  the 
important  one  of  shaving. 

"  I  suppose,"  he  mused,  "  that  every  fellow  shaves 
himself  in  this  benighted  country,  but  I  would  not 
care  to  try  it  so  far  away  from  a  surgeon.  Neither 
do  I  want  to  walk  to  Neahtawanta,  and  apparently 
I  am  not  going  to  be  as  fortunate  as  I  have  been 
before  in  finding  some  one  who  is  going  to  drive 
down.  I'll  have  to  submit  the  problem  to  Dodd." 

Being  comfortably  settled  in  a  reclining-chair 
on  the  front  porch,  and  feeling  that  there  was  no 
great  hurry  about  the  matter,  anyhow,  Leonard 


84  Delightful  Dodd 

waited  for  Dodd  to  pass  that  way.  Experience  had 
taught  him  that  Dodd  might  come  around  the  cor- 
ner of  the  house  at  any  moment,  and  that,  in  any 
event,  he  would  appear  within  a  few  hours,  for 
Dodd  gave  his  personal  attention  to  the  garden  and 
adjacent  orchards,  letting  his  men  go  to  the  more 
distant  fields.  And  what  are  a  few  hours  to  an 
indolent  man  on  a  vacation? 

Dodd  presently  came  along,  going  from  the  gar- 
den to  the  barn,  and  Leonard  promptly  hailed  him. 

"  What  do  you  do  for  a  shave,  Dodd  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Generally,"  replied  Dodd,  "  I  do  without." 

"  Then  you're  not  your  own  barber  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Dodd.  "  I've  got  to  have  confidence 
in  my  barber." 

"  Then  I  suppose  there  is  one  in  the  vicinity," 
suggested  Leonard. 

"  At  times,  during  the  summer,"  answered  Dodd, 
"  when  we  have  helpless  men  from  the  city  on  the 
peninsula.  There  is  one  comes  over  to  Old  Mission 
from  Elk  Rapids  twice  a  week,  but  he's  so  busy 
that  I  guess  you  have  to  make  appointments  ahead 
with  him,  like  you  do  with  a  dentist.  Then  there's 
one  at  the  hotel  at  Neahtawanta  during  most  of 
the  resort  season." 

"Yes;  I  tried  him  two  or  three  times,"  said 
Leonard. 


The  Unlicensed  Barber  85 

"  You  were  lucky  to  get  him,"  remarked  Dodd. 
"  He's  only  there  when  he  happens  to  be  there,  and 
that's  when  there  is  nothing  interesting  going  on 
elsewhere.  Getting  a  shave  up  here  is  a  good  deal 
like  a  lottery." 

"  But  what  do  you  do?"  asked  Leonard. 

Dodd  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  porch  and 
seemed  to  be  wrestling  with  this  question. 

"  There  are  several  things  that  I  do,"  he  said  at 
last.  "  In  the  first  place,  I  wear  a  beard,  which 
simplifies  matters  considerably.  In  the  second  place, 
I  have  it  raked  with  considerable  regularity,  which 
enables  me  to  keep  it  untangled  longer  than  would 
be  possible  otherwise.  In  the  third  place,  I  have 
a  wife  who  is  always  glad  of  an  opportunity  to 
add  to  the  material  for  the  hair  mattress  she  is 
making.  Only  when  it's  absolutely  unavoidable  do 
I  go  to  Mrs.  Dodd  now,  however,  for  she  became 
so  avaricious  that  she  cut  my  whiskers  to  a  really 
immodest  shortness,  and  it  made  me  blush  to  have 
people  see  me." 

"  Then  what  do  you  do  now  ?  " 

"Why,"  said  Dodd,  confidentially,  "I  don't  do 
any  more  than  I  have  to,  but  when  my  whiskers 
get  so  long  that  they  begin  to  tangle  in  the  under- 
brush, I  take  a  day  off  and  go  to  Traverse  City 
for  a  barber." 


86  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Oh,  I  don't  want  to  go  so  far,"  protested  Leon- 
ard. "  That's  a  good  deal  worse  than  Neahta- 
wanta." 

"  It  is  in  some  respects,  but  not  in  others,"  re- 
turned Dodd.  "  It's  a  good  deal  longer  trip,  but 
you  must  remember  that  Traverse  City  is  a  place, 
and  Neahtawanta  is  only  a  lonesome  spot,  unless 
you  bring  friends  along  with  you.  But  perhaps 
we  can  fix  you  up  without  trying  either  place.  I'll 
hitch  up  after  supper,  and  we'll  see  what  we  can 
do  at  Old  Mission." 

After  supper  Dodd  appeared  with  a  horse  and 
buggy,  and  he  and  Leonard  set  out  for  Old  Mission. 

"  I  hope,"  said  Dodd,  solicitously,  "  that  you  have 
no  conscientious  scruples  against  breaking  the  law." 

"  Breaking  the  law ! "  exclaimed  Leonard. 
"  What's  the  law  got  to  do  with  getting  a  shave?  " 

"  The  law  has  a  good  deal  to  do  with  everything," 
replied  Dodd,  "  and  it's  getting  worse.  There's 
so  much  law  that  you  trip  over  it  before  you  know 
it.  Then  you  get  up  and  find  that  you've  kicked  a 
corner  off  a  law  that  you  didn't  know  existed,  and 
somehow  you  don't  think  you're  any  nearer  hell 
than  you  were  before.  After  you've  broken  two 
or  three  fool  laws,  you  sort  of  get  the  law-break- 
ing habit,  and  pretty  soon  it  doesn't  worry  you  to 
break  any  law  that  happens  to  be  inconvenient. 


The  Unlicensed  Barber  87 

We're  getting  to  be  a  lawbreaking  people  —  not 
because  we're  naturally  lawless,  but  because  we're 
tying  ourselves  up  with  laws  so  that  we  can't  move 
without  hearing  something  bust.  Everybody  wants 
his  own  little  law  on  the  statute  books  these  days, 
and  he  gets  it  there,  too.  It's  a  fool  law ;  you  break 
it,  and  after  that  all  law  looks  pretty  cheap  to  you." 

"  But  what  has  that  to  do  with  shaving?  "  asked 
the  bewildered  Leonard. 

"  Just  as  much  as  it  has  to  do  with  shoeing 
horses,"  answered  Dodd.  "  Now,  I've  got  a  man 
on  my  farm  who  can  shoe  a  horse,  but  he  can't." 

"  Please  say  that  over  again,"  said  Leonard, 
plaintively. 

"  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say  that  he  can 
shoe  a  horse,  but  he  may  not,"  explained  Dodd. 
"  In  its  infinite  wisdom,  the  legislature  of  this  great 
State  of  Michigan  has  decreed  that  a  horse  may 
be  shod  only  by  a  licensed  blacksmith.  No  license, 
no  shoeing.  You  can't  shoe  your  own  horse  in  an 
emergency  without  being  subject  to  a  fine." 

"  What  in  the  world  is  the  reason  of  that  ?  "  de- 
manded the  astonished  Leonard. 

"  The  union  labour  vote,"  replied  Dodd.  "  If 
you're  not  a  union  man,  you'll  find  it  mighty  hard 
to  get  a  license." 


88  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Well,  that's  the  most  absurd  thing  I  ever  heard 
of !  "  exclaimed  Leonard. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  returned  Dodd.  "  I  under- 
stand the  Chicago  public  school-teachers  have  joined 
the  Federation  of  Labour.  How  long  do  you  think 
it  will  be  before  you  have  to  have  a  union  card 
to  get  your  children  into  the  public  schools?  Any- 
how, if  the  non-unionist  is  not  to  be  allowed  to 
make  a  living,  what's  the  use  of  educating  him  at 
all?" 

"  But  the  shaving  ?  "  urged  Leonard. 

Dodd  assumed  a  whimsical,  puzzled  expression. 

"  I  confess  I  don't  quite  understand  that,"  he 
said.  "  The  generosity  of  the  great  men  who  rule 
us  is  almost  incomprehensible,  for  they  have  not 
made  it  a  penal  offence  for  a  man  to  shave  himself, 
merely  providing  a  fine  for  the  man  who  shaves 
another  without  first  taking  out  a  license.  Even 
then,  they've  overlooked  something." 

"What?" 

"  Why,  there  are  barber-shops  on  some  of  the 
limited  trains  that  run  through  the  State.  Why 
don't  our  brilliant  officials  hold  them  up  and  clap 
fines  on  the  alien  barbers,  to  the  everlasting  glory 
and  pecuniary  profit  of  the  sovereign  State  of  Mich- 
igan? And  I'll  bet  unlicensed  barbers  on  the  lake 
steamers  occasionally  work  in  Michigan  ports. 


The  Unlicensed  Barber  89 

That's  the  trouble  with  the  great  minds  of  this  la- 
bour-union age;  they  seem  to  weary  of  a  reform 
before  they've  made  it  really  thorough." 

"  Do  I  get  a  licensed  barber  ? "  asked  Leonard, 
anxiously. 

"  Possibly,  possibly,"  replied  Dodd.  "  It's  Sat- 
urday night,  and  we  may  catch  one  at  Old  Mission. 
If  not,  you'll  have  to  break  the  law,  or  go  to  church 
to-morrow  as  the  hairy  man." 

"  The  lesser  crime  of  the  two,"  asserted  Leonard, 
with  conviction,  "  will  be  the  breaking  of  the  law." 

"  Thus,"  moralized  Dodd,  with  mock  solemnity, 
"  does  the  law  itself  lure  us  to  lawlessness.  In  time, 
we  may  have  to  submit  our  every  proposed  trifling 
act  to  a  legal  expert,  just  to  keep  out  of  jail." 

At  Old  Mission  Dodd  left  Leonard  in  the  buggy, 
while  he  went  to  make  inquiries  at  the  office  of  the 
long,  low-frame  hotel  that  seems  to  have  attrac- 
tions for  many  summer  visitors,  principally  women 
and  children.  Presently  he  emerged  and  came  down 
the  walk  to  the  buggy  with  a  most  ludicrous  imita- 
tion of  a  stage  conspirator's  walk. 

"  Hist !  "  he  cautioned,  in  a  hoarse  whisper,  as 
he  came  stealthily  through  the  gate.  "  We  are 
driven  to  crime.  The  licensed  barber  came  over 
from  Elk  Rapids  this  morning  and  went  back  this 
afternoon.  We  must  risk  the  horrors  of  an  unli- 


90  Delightful  Dodd 

censed  shave.  Hist!  See  that  we  are  not 
watched ! " 

Cautiously  he  climbed  into  the  buggy. 

"  Do  you  see  any  one  who  looks  like  a  detec- 
tive? "  he  asked. 

"  No  one,"  replied  Leonard,  laughing. 

"  Then  we  must  make  a  break  for  it,"  said  Dodd, 
and  he  whipped  up  the  horse. 

Down  the  road  they  went,  faster  than  Leonard 
had  ever  seen  the  old  horse  move  before,  around 
a  corner,  up  a  side  street,  down  a  lane,  and,  after 
several  more  bewildering  turns,  stopped  in  front  of 
a  red  house. 

"  I  think  we  are  safe  now,"  said  Dodd,  "  but 
this  trifling  with  the  Michigan  law  of  shaves  is  a 
risky  business.  We  are  defying  the  strength  and 
wisdom  of  the  greatest  minds  of  a  great  State,  — 
minds  that  soar  always  and  ever  as  high  as  shaves 
and  hair-cuts,  leaving  trifles  to  weaker  intellects. 
Hist!  Wait!" 

With  the  same  exaggerated  air  of  stealth,  he  left 
the  buggy  and  approached  the  house.  There  Leon- 
ard saw  him  joined  by  another  man,  with  whom  he 
held  an  animated  conversation.  It  was  evident, 
however,  that  the  stranger  was  rejecting  all  over- 
tures, for  he  kept  shaking  his  head. 

"  He's  afraid,"  said  Dodd,  when  he  came  back. 


The  Unlicensed  Barber  91 

"  He  doesn't  know  me,  so  he  thinks  I'm  too  up- 
right a  man  to  trample  the  laws  of  Michigan  under 
foot  Do  I  look  like  a  detective?" 

"  You  acted  like  one  when  you  approached  the 
house,"  laughed  Leonard,  as  he  recalled  the  picture 
the  old  man  made  tiptoeing  up  the  walk. 

"  Perhaps  that's  it,"  said  Dodd.  "  He  thought 
I  was  trying  to  lure  him  into  evil  ways,  just  to 
arrest  him.  At  any  rate,  he  refused  to  accept  me 
as  a  pal  in  the  great  crime  of  conspiring  to  make 
a  fellow  mortal  presentable  for  church,  the  same 
being  against  the  laws  of  Michigan  and  the  labour 
unions.  But  we  have  still  another  chance  to  get 
ourselves  into  trouble." 

When  nearly  home,  Dodd  turned  into  a  lane  and 
stopped  before  a  barn,  where  he  began  calling  for 
"  Arthur."  Arthur,  when  he  emerged,  proved  to 
be  a  husky  farm-hand. 

"  S-s-sh !  "  said  Dodd.  Then,  leaning  over  the 
seat :  "  They  tell  me  some  of  you  boys  sometimes 
shave  each  other." 

Arthur  looked  startled. 

"  It's  all  right,"  Dodd  hastened  to  explain.  "  I've 
got  a  young  man  here  who's  anxious  to  get  into 
the  ways  of  crime  himself." 

Arthur  looked  puzzled,  but  evidently  deemed  it 
wise  to  say  nothing. 


92  Delightful  Dodd 

"  He  wants  to  get  shaved,"  Dodd  added,  "  and 
I'll  vouch  for  him.  He'll  never  give  away  a  pal." 

Arthur  looked  dubious. 

"  I'd  like  to  oblige  any  of  your  people,  Mr. 
Dodd,"  he  said,  "  but  I  don't  want  to  get  into  any 
trouble." 

"  That's  all  right,"  returned  Dodd.  "  If  you  just 
scratch  him  up  a  little,  he  can  easily  make  people 
believe  he  shaved  himself." 

Arthur  smiled  at  this  and  decided  that  he  would 
run  the  risk  of  fine  or  imprisonment  that  the  young 
man  from  the  city  might  go  to  church.  He  got 
some  hot  water,  escorted  Leonard  up  into  the  loft 
of  the  barn,  rigged  up  a  lantern  for  light,  as  it 
was  now  getting  rather  dark,  and  arranged  two 
old  chairs,  one  behind  the  other.  In  the  first  he 
instructed  Leonard  to  sit;  then  he  placed  one  foot 
on  a  rung  of  the  other,  thus  bringing  his  knee  high 
enough  to  make  a  head-rest;  and  in  this  primitive 
fashion,  his  head  resting  on  the  knee  of  the  ama- 
teur barber,  Leonard  received  his  first  unlicensed 
Michigan  shave.  The  arrangement  being  decidedly 
awkward,  he  was  somewhat  nervous,  and  he  swore 
softly  to  himself  about  the  fool  lawmakers  of  the 
Wolverine  State. 

"  And  yet,"  said  Dodd,  as  they  drove  home,  "  it 
might  be  worse." 


"LEONARD    RECEIVED    HIS    FIRST    UNLICENSED    MICHIGAN- 
SHAVE.  " 


The  Unlicensed  Barber 


93 


"  How  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  Why,  they  might  make  a  mother  take  out  a 
license  to  give  her  baby  a  bath,"  replied  Dodd. 
"  We  haven't  yet  reached  the  limit  of  legislation." 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE   SERMON    AND   THE    WHISTLE 

AT  the  breakfast-table  Sunday  morning,  Dodd 
bowed  gravely  to  Leonard  and  said :  "  Will  you 
say  grace,  Mr.  Leonard  ?  " 

Leonard  was  startled.  He  never  had  been  called 
upon  to  say  grace  in  his  life,  and  this  was  the  more 
unexpected  because  it  was  not  customary  in  the 
Dodd  household  to  say  grace.  Nothing  of  the  sort 
had  been  done  before  during  Leonard's  stay.  Nev- 
ertheless, Dodd  bowed  his  head  and  waited.  The 
others  looked  up  in  surprise  and  then  followed  his 
example,  although  some  of  them  seemed  to  find 
Leonard's  confusion  amusing.  Leonard  himself 
was  too  bewildered  to  even  think  connectedly.  He 
bowed  his  head,  but,  from  necessity,  remained  si- 
lent ;  he  did  not  know  what  to  say.  His  face  flushed, 
drops  of  perspiration  stood  on  his  forehead.  The 
others  waited,  and  presently  Leonard's  voice  was 
heard  saying  weakly :  "  May  I  have  a  little  of  the 
egg,  please?" 

94 


The  Sermon  and  the  Whistle       95 

Dodd  gave  him  an  astonished,  reproachful  glance, 
but  behind  it  were  his  twinkling  eyes.  Some  of 
the  others  laughed,  and  some  seemed  to  hesitate 
between  indignation  and  laughter.  Mrs.  Dodd, 
however,  was  unquestionably  on  the  indignation 
side,  for  Dodd  was  always  doing  some  unexpected 
thing  that  distressed  her. 

"  Daniel  Dodd,"  she  exclaimed,  "  will  you  never 
reform  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Reform  movements  are 
dangerous.  We  like  reform  in  theory,  but  not  in 
practice,  and  it  usually  paves  the  way  for  greater 
evil.  Look  at  New  York.  After  reform  Tammany 
wins  by  increased  majorities.  Look  at  the  average 
individual.  Reform  only  gives  him  a  greater  dis- 
tance to  fall  when  he  wearies  of  it.  I  am  surprised, 
Mrs.  Dodd,  that  you  should  wish  me  to  do  so  fool- 
ish and  dangerous  a  thing  as  to  reform." 

"  Don't,"  laughed  Leonard.  "  We  much  prefer 
you  as  you  are." 

"  Indeed  we  do,"  added  Miss  Marsden,  "  even 
if  you  do  have  a  little  harmless  fun  with  some  of 
us  occasionally." 

"That's  just  the  point,"  asserted  Dodd.  "It's 
harmless  now,  but  after  a  reform  it  would  be 
vicious.  There's  nothing  worse  than  an  unravelled 
reform.  Now,  in  my  case,  never  having  reformed, 


96  Delightful  Dodd 

I  always  feel  quite  properly  penitent  for  my  mis- 
deeds. Just  now  I  am  so  anxious  to  make  atone- 
ment that  I  extend  an  invitation  to  all  of  you  to 
go  to  church  with  me." 

Miss  Marsden  looked  at  him  in  some  surprise. 
She  had  heard  that  his  religion  was  of  the  fields 
rather  than  the  churches. 

"  Are  you  a  regular  attendant  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  In  the  summer,"  replied  Dodd,  "  I  go  to  church 
every  Sunday." 

"  Why,  Daniel  Dodd !  "  exclaimed  his  wife.  "  I 
don't  believe  you've  been  inside  of  a  church  in  ten 
years !  " 

"  Oh,  inside  of  a  church ! "  repeated  Dodd,  with 
an  air  of  innocent  surprise.  "  Of  course  not.  But 
I  go  to  church  whenever  any  one  wishes  to  be  driven 
over,  and  I  stay  right  there  (on  the  outside)  until 
the  whistle  blows." 

Leonard  laughed,  but  some  of  the  others  seemed 
to  be  shocked  by  the  irreverent  levity  of  the  expres- 
sion. 

"  I  may  go  myself,"  said  Leonard,  "  if  service 
and  sermon  are  not  too  protracted.  I  have  noticed 
that  when  a  country  minister  gets  a  few  people  from 
the  city  in  his  congregation,  he  seems  to  think  that 
something  in  the  line  of  extra  effort  is  necessary, 


The  Sermon  and  the  Whistle       97 

and  I  imagine  it  will  be  pretty  hot  in  church  to-day. 
How  long  is  he  likely  to  preach  ?  " 

"  Until  the  whistle  blows,"  replied  Dodd,  sol- 
emnly. 

"  Daniel  Dodd !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Dodd,  severely. 

"  Now,  Emma,"  returned  Dodd,  plaintively, 
"  you  don't  know  anything  about  it,  because  you 
never  go  to  church  in  the  summer  when  we  have 
visitors  up  here.  You  tried  it  once  or  twice,  at 
first,  but  you  had  to  admit  that  your  spirit  was 
too  worldly  to  be  reached  by  the  words  of  the  good 
man,  especially  when  there  was  such  distressing 
uncertainty  as  to  when  he  would  quit.  You  know 
perfectly  well  that  during  the  last  half  of  the  ser- 
mon you  were  always  wondering  whether  dinner 
would  be  spoiled  by  the  time  we  got  back  to  it." 

The  laugh  that  followed  this  showed  that  other 
women  could  appreciate  Mrs.  Dodd's  predicament, 
but  some  of  them  were  still  doubtful  about  the 
propriety  of  the  reference  to  the  whistle. 

"  If  you  could  lift  yourself  out  of  the  kitchen," 
Dodd  went  on,  "  and  give  the  thought  to  church 
affairs  that  I  do,  you  would  know  that  more  than 
half  the  people  who  go  to  Old  Mission  Sunday 
mornings  during  the  summer  go  there  to  see  the 
weekly  boat  from  Chicago  come  in,  and  merely  drop 
into  the  church  to  pass  away  the  time.  When  the 


98  Delightful  Dodd 

boat  whistles,  they  start  for  the  dock.  The  preacher 
has  been  wise  enough  to  understand  the  futility  of 
trying  to  hand  out  even  the  best  brand  of  salva- 
tion in  the  face  of  the  arrival  of  a  steamer  that  may 
leave  a  new  man  for  the  girls  or  a  new  girl  for  the 
men  or  a  woman  with  gowns  that  can  be  criticized 
by  all  the  others  of  her  sex,  so  he  shuts  off  quick 
and  hurls  the  benediction  after  the  retreating  con- 
gregation. That's  what  I  mean  by  saying  that 
church  lasts  until  the  whistle  blows.  It's  literally 
true.  After  the  first  five  minutes  of  the  sermon,  it 
is  a  mere  matter  of  listening  for  the  whistle,  and 
even  the  preacher  keeps  one  ear  cocked  for  it." 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  explained  Mrs.  Dodd,  apologet- 
ically, "  is  utterly  unregenerate." 

"  Why,  Emma,"  expostulated  Dodd,  "  I  have  al- 
ways been  particular  to  observe  the  Sabbath  just 
as  other  men  do." 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  By  putting  on  clean  underclothing  and  a  higher 
collar,"  replied  Dodd,  in  his  serious  way,  which 
greatly  increased  the  effect  of  his  unexpected  re- 
marks. "  I  have  noticed  that  in  many  circles,  espe- 
cially in  the  city,  a  man's  reverence  is  gauged  by 
the  height  of  his  Sunday  collar,  and  in  my  poor, 
weak  way  I  do  the  best  I  can,  although  my  neck 


The  Sermon  and  the  Whistle       99 

isn't  long  enough  to  give  me  the  very  best  stand- 
ing." 

Mrs.  Dodd  laughed  indulgently,  for,  in  spite  of 
her  protests,  she  had  deep  affection  and  sincere  ad- 
miration for  her  kindly,  quaint  husband,  and  she 
had  long  before  learned  how  useless  it  was  to  at- 
tempt to  curb  him. 

Later,  when  Dodd  was  driving  those  who  wished 
to  attend  church  to  Old  Mission,  Leonard  under- 
took to  draw  him  out  a  little  more. 

"  I  suppose,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  said,  "  that,  aside 
from  the  question  of  high  collars,  you  have  your 
own  way  of  observing  the  Sabbath." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  Dodd.  "  I  always  try  to  keep 
my  thoughts  and  conversation  within  appropriate 
limitations.  So  far  as  possible,  I  think  of  the  moral 
and  really  commendable  things  that  I  have  done 
or  tried  to  do,  but,  unfortunately,  I  ran  out  of  ma- 
terial within  two  Sundays  after  I  laid  down  this 
rule,  and  I've  had  to  keep  going  over  the  same 
ground  ever  since.  To-day  I  am  keeping  properly 
solemn  by  thinking  of  the  time  I  quit  smoking." 

"  That  was  a  commendable  thing  to  do,"  re- 
marked Miss  Marsden. 

"  I  suppose  so,"  replied  Dodd,  lugubriously. 

"  Don't  you  know  it  ?  "  she  insisted. 

"  The  evidence  is  conflicting,"  explained  Dodd. 


IOO  Delightful  Dodd 

"  You  see,  it  was  about  the  way  it  is  when  any  man 
quits  smoking:  the  people  who  don't  have  to  asso- 
ciate with  him  commend  his  moral  strength,  and 
those  who  do  can  only  say,  '  For  heaven's  sake ! 
take  a  cigar  and  look  pleasant!  You  give  me  the 
blues ! '  The  second  day  after  I  quit,  I  gave  my 
entire  attention  to  snapping  customers'  heads  off  and 
throwing  them  in  the  waste-basket.  At  the  close 
of  business  that  day,  I  had  acquired  nothing  but 
a  needless  supply  of  temper  and  the  ill-will  of  every- 
body I  had  met.  It  took  three  years  of  smoking 
to  get  back  the  business  that  I  lost  in  one  week  of 
abstinence.  However,  it  eased  my  conscience  a 
little  to  find  that  smoking  was  not  a  luxury  or  a 
vice,  but  a  business  necessity.  It  gave  me  the  upper 
hand  in  my  dealings  with  my  conscience,  and  I've 
been  mighty  careful  to  keep  it  ever  since." 

Dodd  seemed  offended  by  the  laughter  that 
greeted  this,  for  he  looked  reproachfully  at  Leon- 
ard, who  sat  beside  him,  and  then  at  the  others 
on  the  seats  behind. 

"  That  isn't  a  joke,"  he  said ;  "  that  is  merely 
a  statement  of  one  of  the  sad  truths  of  life.  We're 
wrecked  by  the  trifles.  I  get  just  as  mad  if  a  cow 
goes  dry  as  I  would  if  the  house  burned  down,  — 
go  the  limit  on  the  trifle  and  have  nothing  left. 
One  way  or  another,  we're  all  like  old  Pete  Flint. 


The  Sermon  and  the  Whistle     101 

Pete  was  the  most  fluent  and  artistic  cusser  that  I 
ever  heard.  I  never  did  believe  much  in  cussing, 
but  I  can  rip  out  a  few  unpolished  words  when 
things  go  wrong,  and  that's  where  I've  always  had 
the  best  of  Pete.  In  the  swearing  line,  Pete  is  one 
of  these  continuous  shows,  and  mighty  strenuous. 
He  can't  say  three  words  without  two  of  them 
being  cuss-words,  —  wasting  his  ammunition  just 
like  a  boy  with  a  new  gun  and  a  few  cartridges. 
Well,  one  day  things  went  wrong  with  Pete,  — 
very  much  wrong.  His  barn  blew  down,  a  peddler 
beat  him  out  of  two  dollars,  and  a  neighbour  threat- 
ened to  sue  him  for  trespass.  Pete  was  livid  with 
rage;  he  shook  his  fist  in  the  neighbour's  face,  his 
jaws  worked,  but  he  didn't  say  anything.  Then 
he  just  lay  down  on  the  ground  and  began  to  cry. 
Happening  along  about  then,  I  asked  him  what  was 
the  matter. 

"  '  I'm  all  in,'  he  said,  despairingly. 

"'Hurt?'  I  asked. 

"  '  Not  in  my  body,'  he  said,  '  but  in  my  feelings. 
I've  been  cussing  so  blamed  much,  Dodd,  that  I 
ain't  got  a  blamed  word  left  to  show  how  mad 
I  am.' " 

"  Is  that  story  quite  suited  to  the  day,  Mr. 
Dodd  ? "  asked  one  of  the  ladies  in  the  back  of 
the  carryall. 


102  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Of  course,"  replied  Dodd.  "  It  has  a  fine  moral 
to  it." 

"What's  the  moral?" 

"  Don't  be  wasteful,  even  of  cuss-words !  Hold 
something  in  reserve  for  the  really  big  affairs  of  life! 
But  we  don't ;  we  let  the  trifles  wear  us  out  and  use 
up  all  our  resources.  That's  why  the  farmer  shows 
his  age  more  than  the  city  man :  he  has  more  of  the 
little  annoyances  to  keep  him  constantly  irritated." 

At  the  door  of  the  church  Miss  Marsden  asked 
Dodd  if  he  wouldn't  establish  a  new  precedent  by 
going  in. 

"  No,"  he  replied;  "  I'll  stay  out  here  and  watch 
the  horses." 

"  Do  the  horses  have  to  be  watched  ? "  she 
queried. 

"  On  Sundays,"  he  told  her,  confidentially,  "  I 
like  to  pretend  they  do." 

Then  he  drove  the  team  under  the  spreading 
branches  of  a  big  tree,  hitched  it,  and  made  himself 
comfortable  in  the  shade,  where  he  was  presently 
joined  by  Leonard. 

"  I  got  to  the  door,"  explained  Leonard,  "  but 
it  looked  too  hot  inside  and  too  cool  over  here." 

"  It's  a  funny  thing,"  commented  Dodd,  "  that 
we're  urged  to  keep  out  of  hell  by  going  to  the 
hottest  place  we  can  find  on  Sundays." 


The  Sermon  and  the  Whistle     103 

Then  he  made  himself  comfortable,  with  his  back 
against  a  tree,  lit  a  cigar,  and  smoked  in  meditative 
silence,  while  Leonard  stretched  himself  full  length 
on  the  grass.  It  was  an  ideal  place  and  an  ideal 
day  for  meditation.  The  music  from  the  church 
and  the  rustling  of  the  leaves  were  all  that  broke 
the  silence,  except  as  a  horse  stirred  occasionally. 
Dodd,  apparently,  was  busy  with  one  of  those  queer 
problems  that  gave  him  so  much  pleasure,  and 
Leonard  was  idly  wondering  whether  Miss  Marsden 
thought  he  should  or  should  not  have  left  after  the 
little  scene  when  she  so  confused  him.  Of  course 
it  was  a  matter  of  no  importance,  but  —  he  won- 
dered. She  seemed  to  have  such  very  decided  opin- 
ions, although  she  never  obtruded  them,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  no  uncertainty  as  to  her  own  course 
of  action  under  any  circumstances.  Yet,  under  this 
unusual  resourcefulness,  there  was  the  womanly 
charm  that  is  so  attractive  to  the  normal  man;  she 
had  strength  without  aggressiveness. 

"  If  she  could  only  be  a  little  lazier  occasionally," 
sighed  Leonard.  "  Why,  her  fingers  are  busy  with 
fancy  work  as  she  sits  beside  her  sister's  hammock, 
and  she  can't  even  go  to  the  woods  without  collect- 
ing pine-needles  for  a  sofa-cushion.  However,  it 
doesn't  concern  me." 

But  he  kept  on  wondering  just  the  same,  until 


104  Delightful   Dodd 

it  dawned  on  him  that  it  must  be  time  for  church 
to  be  dismissed,  and  he  looked  at  his  watch. 

"  The  service  ought  to  be  over  by  this  time," 
he  remarked. 

Dodd  slowly  roused  himself  from  his  own  little 
reverie  until  he  was  able  to  grasp  the  import  of  what 
Leonard  had  said. 

"  No  whistle  yet,"  he  returned. 

"  But  the  boat  may  be  late,"  said  Leonard. 

"  The  boat  is  late,"  replied  Dodd. 

"  Do  you  really  mean  to  say  that  he'll  preach  until 
he  hears  the  whistle?" 

"  If  he  can." 

"And  if  he  can't?" 

"  He'll  piece  out  with  prayer.  You  see,  it  has 
become  so  much  a  matter  of  custom  to  have  the 
boat  whistle  end  the  service  that  he  just  naturally 
doesn't  know  when  to  stop  without  it.  It's  an  illus- 
tration of  the  way  habit  clutches  and  holds  us. 
Or  you  might  say  that  he's  a  sort  of  religious  engi- 
neer :  keeps  full  steam  ahead  until  he  gets  the  sig- 
nal to  back  up.  Sometimes  I've  thought  it  might 
be  a  good  idea  to  sue  the  steamboat  company  for 
the  dinners  that  are  spoiled  when  the  boat  is  late. 
There  have  been  times  when  Mrs.  Dodd  and  vari- 
ous other  housewives  would  cheerfully  have  drowned 


The  Sermon  and  the  Whistle     105 

the  captain,  although  he's  usually  on  time  or  a  little 
ahead  of  it." 

Meanwhile  there  was  restlessness  in  the  church, 
for  Dodd  had  not  greatly  exaggerated  conditions. 
A  summer  congregation  at  Old  Mission  could  no 
more  be  held  after  the  steamer's  whistle  was  heard 
than  could  a  stampeded  herd  of  cattle,  and,  as  the 
steamer  usually  came  in  about  the  time  the  service 
ended,  the  minister  had  learned  to  give  the  same 
attention  to  it  that  the  congregation  did.  Indeed, 
having  had  to  cut  his  closing  sentences  on  a  few 
occasions,  he  had  unconsciously  acquired  the  habit 
of  hurrying  a  little  in  order  that  the  steamer  might 
not  beat  him  to  the  finish.  Thus  the  whistle  had 
become  a  sort  of  guide. 

But  to-day  the  boat  was  late.  The  minister 
preached  and  listened.  Usually  there  came  to  him 
faintly  over  the  water  a  first  whistle,  to  which  those 
of  the  congregation  who  heard  it  paid  no  attention, 
but  there  was  just  time  between  this  and  the  whistle, 
as  the  boat  approached  the  dock,  for  the  closing 
prayer.  He  was  waiting  for  this  whistle,  but  it 
did  not  come,  and  he  was  like  a  man  who  had  lost 
his  reckoning  in  the  woods.  He  wandered  anx- 
iously and  uncertainly  through  the  rhetorical  forest, 
listening  ever  for  the  sound  that  would  show  him 
the  way  out.  On  and  on  he  wandered,  while  his 


106  Delightful  Dodd 

listeners  stirred  uneasily  and  looked  at  their  watches, 
until  he  found  that  he  was  going  over  the  same 
trail  twice.  Then  he  stopped  abruptly,  abandoned 
his  sermon  and  began  to  pray.  But  here  again  he 
was  lost.  There  seemed  no  way  to  stop  without 
the  customary  signal,  so  strong  is  habit,  although, 
if  he  had  looked  over  his  congregation,  he  might 
have  seen  that  every  head  was  turned  so  that  the 
whistle  could  not  escape  the  waiting  ear.  He 
prayed  for  the  congregation,  for  himself,  for  Old 
Mission,  for  Peninsula  County,  for  the  State  of 
Michigan,  for  the  lake  sailors,  for  the  United  States, 
for  North  America,  and  — 

The  whistle  was  heard.  Loud  and  clear  it  came 
to  the  weary  and  restless  worshippers,  showing  that 
the  boat  was  approaching  the  dock  and  the  prelim- 
inary whistle  had  not  been  heard. 

"  Amen !  "  said  the  parson,  quickly,  and  a  great, 
combined  sigh  of  relief  went  up. 

"  I  have  always  feared  some  such  tragedy  as 
this,"  said  Dodd,  as  they  drove  home,  "  andT  have 
thought  some  of  suggesting  that  an  imitation  steam- 
er's whistle  be  put  on  the  dock,  in  order  that  no 
serious  consequences  ashore  would  follow  an  acci- 
dent to  the  boat.  As  matters  are  now,  one  runs 
a  great  risk." 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THREE   LETTERS 

LEONARD  had  decided  that  in  one  thing  Miss 
Marsden  was  right  —  a  man  really  ought  to  have 
some  occupation.  It  need  not  be  a  very  engrossing 
occupation,  but  the  days  should  not  be  entirely  ob- 
jectless. Consequently,  Leonard  took  upon  himself 
the  duty  of  meeting  the  mail-carrier  every  after- 
noon. There  really  was  no  reason  why  any  one 
should  meet  the  mail-carrier,  for,  under  the  rural 
free  delivery  system,  every  family  has  a  mail-box, 
nailed  to  a  post  at  the  side  of  the  road,  where  the 
mail  may  be  left  until  it  is  convenient  for  some  one 
to  come  from  the  house  to  get  it.  But  it  gave  Leon- 
ard a  little  interest  in  life  to  feel  that  there  was 
a  certain  thing  to  do  at  a  certain  time,  so  he  strolled 
down  to  the  road  and  waited  in  the  shade  of  a  tree 

107 


108  Delightful  Dodd 

for  the  "  R.  F.  D.  man,"  as  the  carrier  was  desig- 
nated. 

He  was  comfortably  settled  here  one  afternoon, 
when  Dodd  drove  along  on  his  way  to  see  a  neigh- 
bour about  a  little  business  matter. 

"  Whoa !  "  said  Dodd  to  his  horse,  and,  when 
the  latter  had  stopped,  he  leaned  over  with  the  air 
of  a  man  having  a  serious  purpose  in  view. 

"  Waiting  for  the  mail  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Leonard. 

"  While  you  have  been  waiting  for  the  mail  day 
after  day,"  said  Dodd,  "  did  you  ever  stop  to  think 
how  many  thousands  of  miles  of  travel  the  rural 
free  delivery  system  saves  the  farmers  of  the  coun- 
try?" 

Leonard  gasped  at  the  magnitude  of  the  problem 
thus  suddenly  presented  to  him. 

"  Never,"  he  replied  at  last. 

"  I  supposed  not,"  said  Dodd.  "  There  are  few 
people  who  know  how  to  be  entertaining  to  them- 
selves. Now,  in  my  own  case,  I  figure  that  I  used 
to  travel  1,800  miles  a  year  to  get  my  mail  before 
we  had  the  rural  free  delivery,  because  we  had  a 
good  deal  of  mail,  and  went  for  it  more  regularly 
than  some  of  the  others.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
were  many  who  had  a  much  greater  distance  to 
go,  so  very  likely  it  would  average  up  to  at  least 


Three  Letters  109 

1,500  miles  a  year  for  each  family  in  the  whole 
district.  For  a  hundred  families  that  would  mean 
150,000  miles  a  year.  But,  while  most  of  our  trips 
were  made  for  the  mail,  we  had  to  make  occasional 
trips  for  supplies,  and  these  we  still  have  to  make. 
Possibly  one  in  every  four  of  the  old  trips  are  still 
necessary,  leaving  only  three  saved,  or  about  112,- 
ooo  miles  a  year.  But  that  is  only  for  a  very  small 
district,  right  about  here.  Just  extend  your  district 
from  the  lighthouse  to  Traverse  v  City,  and  you'll 
have  some  figures  that  are  really  interesting,  and 
yet  it  takes  only  two  carriers  to  cover  the  whole 
peninsula.  Having  finished  the  peninsula,  a  little 
investigation  would  give  you  an  excellent  basis  on 
which  to  estimate  the  saving  in  the  State  of  Mich- 
igan, and  from  that  —  " 

"  Whoa !  Back  up !  "  cried  Leonard.  "  Do  you 
want  me  to  drown  myself  in  a  sea  of  figures  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Dodd.  "  I  merely  wanted  to  give 
you  a  little  entertainment.  You'll  find  statistics  as 
to  rural  population  in  my  office  library,  and  it  ought 
not  to  be  difficult  to  learn  the  limits  of  the  rural  free 
delivery  system.  Then  you  will  have  the  basis  of 
an  enjoyable  mental  occupation  that  will  keep  you 
from  being  lonely  all  summer.  I  don't  like  to  see 
people  getting  rusty." 

Dodd  touched  the  horse  with  the  whip,  and  a 


HO  Delightful  Dodd 

moment  later  was  jogging  along  down  the  road, 
while  Leonard  looked  after  him  in  wonder. 

"  I'll  bet  you  never  get  rusty,"  mused  Leonard, 
and  then  it  occurred  to  him  that  there  was  some- 
thing pathetic  in  this  old  fellow,  with  his  active 
mind  and  the  wreck  of  his  plans,  struggling  with 
his  hands  to  keep  things  going.  It  was  the  more 
sympathy-compelling  because  of  Dodd's  cheerful- 
ness in  the  face  of  worries  and  conditions  that  could 
not  fail  to  be  exceptionally  trying  to  him ;  he  never 
complained;  there  was  no  bitterness  in  his  heart; 
and  yet  the  very  problems  that  he  devised  and  solved 
showed  a  mind  that  was  ever  seeking  to  escape  the 
restrictions  entailed  by  existing  conditions. 

"  He's  the  only  one  of  the  kind,"  laughed  Leon- 
ard ;  "  the  model  was  lost.  But  there  are  few  men 
in  this  world  who  could  bow  to  adverse  fate  and 
accept  disheartening  conditions  as  gracefully  as  he 
does.  I  rather  think  he's  more  of  a  hero  than  some 
of  the  men  the  poets  have  sung  about." 

The  appearance  of  the  mail-cart  in  the  distance 
stopped  these  meditations,  and  Leonard  walked 
along  the  road  to  meet  it.  Receiving  the  Dodd 
mail,  he  sorted  out  the  letters  that  were  for  him- 
self and  put  the  rest  in  his  pockets.  His  own  letters 
he  read  as  he  walked  back  to  the  house. 

The  first  was  from  a  lawyer,  who  had  been  his 


Three  Letters  1 1 1 

father's  intimate  friend  and  his  own  adviser  and 
representative  in  all  business  matters.  He  merely 
glanced  at  this  envelope  and  then  put  it  under  the 
others. 

"  Business !  "  he  soliloquized.  "  Alvord  never 
writes  on  anything  but  business.  Let  it  wait" 

The  next  envelope  was  addressed  in  a  feminine 
hand. 

"Now,  what  does  Edith  want?"  he  went  on. 
"  Is  it  my  income  or  me  or  just  a  little  amuse- 
ment?" 

Edith  was  a  "  butterfly  of  fashion  "  —  a  girl  who 
had  been  taught  that  her  mission  in  life  was  to  use 
such  charms  as  nature  and  society  had  given  her 
to  capture  the  largest  income  within  reach,  taking 
with  it  such  incumbrance  in  the  way  of  a  man  as 
might  be  necessary.  She  was  pretty,  vivacious,  and 
mercenary,  but,  aside  from  matrimony,  it  is  prob- 
able that  she  never  had  had  a  serious  thought. 
Leonard  had  flirted  with  her  after  an  idle  fashion, 
there  being  a  feeling  that  the  flirtation  might  drift 
into  something  serious.  It  had  been  a  sort  of  spar- 
ring for  time,  while  each  looked  to  see  what  other 
opportunities  there  might  be.  It  would  have  taken 
very  little  to  have  made  what  society  would  have 
termed  "  a  brilliant  match  "  of  it  at  that  time,  but 
somehow  they  had  parted  still  undecided,  and  the 


112  Delightful  Dodd 

flirtation  had  resulted  only  in  a  correspondence  that 
made  anything  or  nothing  a  future  possibility. 

In  the  letter  he  was  addressed  as  "  My  dear 
Hermit,"  and  upbraided  for  hiding  himself  away 
from  all  the  people  worth  knowing.  She  was  writ- 
ing, she  said,  in  their  favourite  woodland  nook  of 
the  summer  before,  which  was  the  next  best  thing 
to  having  him  there.  Then  she  told  him  how  much 
gayer  it  was  than  the  summer  before,  and  what 
splendid  opportunities  there  were  for  enjoyment,  — 
boating,  dances,  drives,  tennis,  golf,  swimming, 
woodland  walks,  and  about  everything  else  in  the 
line  of  pleasurable  occupation.  All  in  all,  her  letter 
was  an  indirect  but  unmistakable  invitation  to  come 
to  her. 

He  tore  it  up,  with  an  impatient  exclamation.  A 
short  time  before  he  would  have  gone,  glad  of  the 
chance  to  renew  the  flirtation  at  close  range  and 
under  such  favourable  auspices.  But  it  annoyed 
him  now.  She  led  such  an  utterly  useless  and  ob- 
jectless life.  So  did  he,  for  that  matter,  but  — 
well,  he  had  grown  weary  of  it  and  was  going  to 
do  something.  Not  just  then,  but  some  day.  Of 
course  he  would  begin  right  away  if  he  only  knew 
what  to  attempt,  but  there  wasn't  much  to  do  in  the 
summer,  anyway.  Still,  admitting  his  own  short- 
comings, he  looked  at  Edith  from  an  entirely  differ- 


Three  Letters  113 

ent  view-point  now,  and  she  did  not  please  him  as 
she  had  done  before.  His  ideal,  although  hazy, 
had  changed;  it  was  not  enough  that  a  woman 
should  be  pretty,  dress  well,  and  entertain  cleverly. 

The  third  letter  was  from  a  Chicago  friend,  who 
told  him  he  was  making  the  mistake  of  his  life  in 
searching  for  pleasure  elsewhere.  "  Nothing  doing 
here  but  fun,"  he  wrote.  "  Two  summer  extrava- 
ganzas running,  lots  of  pretty  girls,  and  no  one  left 
in  town  to  criticize  you  for  anything  you  may  choose 
to  do.  Cool  evenings  for  drives  and  lively  times 
at  the  summer  gardens.  Just  enough  of  the  right 
kind  of  men  at  the  clubs  to  make  things  interesting. 
Better  comb  the  hay  out  of  your  hair  and  come 
back  to  life." 

Leonard  tore  this  letter  up,  also.  He  realized 
that  the  conditions  pictured  ought  to  prove  alluring, 
but  they  did  not.  He  was  somewhat  surprised  to 
find  that  he  preferred  to  stay  at  Old  Mission.  True, 
he  had  planned  to  spend  most  of  the  summer  there, 
telling  himself  that  he  was  weary  of  the  livelier  and 
more  worldly  pleasures,  but  the  plans  he  made  for 
the  summer  were  usually  abandoned  by  the  first  of 
July,  and  he  acted  on  impulse  thereafter.  Yet  this 
time  he  was  sticking  to  a  very  prosaic  programme. 

"  Why  should  I  give  myself  the  bother  of  mak- 


114  Delightful   Dodd 

ing  a  change?"  he  mused,  with  a  laugh.  "It's 
easier  to  stay  here." 

He  took  the  rest  of  the  mail  to  the  house,  and 
then  settled  himself  in  a  hammock  to  read  the  law- 
yer's letter. 

"  Dreadful  bore,"  he  thought.  "  Alvord's  always 
criticizing  the  management  of  the  bank,  but  it  was 
good  enough  for  father,  and  I  don't  know  where 
I  could  get  as  good  returns  on  the  money  invested." 

He  overlooked  the  fact  that  his  father,  in  his 
lifetime,  had  been  an  officer  of  the  bank,  and  con- 
sequently in  a  position  to  protect  his  investment, 
but  this  was  suddenly  impressed  upon  him  when  he 
read  the  letter.  The  bank  had  failed. 

"  You  will  recall,"  Alvord  wrote,  "  that  I  always 
advised  against  carrying  all  your  eggs  in  one  basket. 
I  did  not  think  it  wise  even  in  your  father's  case, 
and  it  was  a  much  greater  risk  after  his  death. 
However,  nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  taking  up  that 
question  now.  The  bank  is  closed,  and  its  affairs 
are  reported  to  be  in  a  very  serious  condition,  owing 
to  erratic  and  reckless  management  and  the  effort 
on  the  part  of  one  of  its  officers  (now  supposed  to 
be  headed  for  some  South  American  country)  to 
get  rich  in  a  hurry.  It  is  impossible,  at  this  writing, 
to  say  how  far  the  assets  will  go  toward  covering 
the  liabilities,  but  it  is  my  personal  opinion  that  the 


Three  Letters  115 

depositors  will  get  little  and  the  stockholders  noth- 
ing. This,  however,  is  a  mere  surmise.  It  will 
be  some  time  before  the  receiver  is  able  to  make 
a  report,  and  he  may  find  things  in  much  better 
condition  than  now  seems  probable.  But,  at  best, 
you  must  expect  to  stand  a  very  considerable  loss. 
As  your  presence  will  in  no  way  improve  the  sit- 
uation, I  see  no  reason  why  you  should  return  to 
the  city  at  this  time,  as  I  shall  watch  matters,  and 
can  send  for  you  whenever  your  interests  require 
it.  I  presume  you  have  enough  cash  for  current 
expenses.  If  not,  you  may  draw  on  me  for  what 
you  need.  As  a  depositor,  you  will  get  something 
in  time,  even  if  you  get  nothing  as  a  stockholder; 
but,  taking  the  liberty  of  an  old  friend  of  your 
father's,  I  would  suggest  that  you  give  some  thought 
this  summer  to  the  question  of  a  business  occupa- 
tion, for  I  tell  you  frankly  that  you  are  pretty  cer- 
tain to  need  one.  I  shall  be  glad  to  give  you  any 
assistance  I  can  when  you  have  reached  a  decision, 
but  of  course  there  are  practically  no  opportunities 
during  the  hot  months.  That  is  why  I  suggest  that 
you  might  as  well  stay  where  you  are  unless  you 
hear  from  me  to  the  contrary." 

The  suddenness  and  severity  of  the  blow  dazed 
Leonard.  His  predicament  was  even  more  serious 
than  the  lawyer  supposed,  for  he  had  little  cash  with 


Il6  Delightful  Dodd 

him  and  his  bank-account  was  carried  in  the  col- 
lapsed institution.  This  was  now  beyond  his  reach, 
at  least  temporarily.  And  he,  whose  sole  activities 
up  to  date  had  been  in  the  line  of  college  athletics, 
golf,  and  polo,  was  confronted  with  the  task  of  earn- 
ing his  own  living.  There  might  be  enough  saved 
from  the  wreck  to  help  a  little,  but  even  that  was 
doubtful. 

He  was  too  dazed  to  think  connectedly.  Sitting 
in  the  hammock,  still  holding  the  letter  in  his  hand, 
he  looked  vacantly  into  space,  while  his  mind 
jumped  from  one  thing  to  another.  Then  he  got 
up  and  walked  down  into  the  woods  toward  Ter- 
race Cottage,  and  somehow  the  walking  seemed 
to  clear  his  head  a  little.  What  should  he  do? 
What  could  he  do?  He  had  had  a  good  education, 
but  no  practical  experience  in  any  line ;  he  had  been 
an  idler.  Fortunately,  he  thought,  the  college  grad- 
uate was  more  in  demand  than  ever  before;  busi- 
ness men  were  beginning  to  realize  that,  all  else 
being  equal,  the  college  man  had  a  better  founda- 
tion for  success  than  the  one  who  began  business 
earlier,  and  the  great  corporations  had  reached  the 
point  of  actually  favouring  him.  This  he  had  read, 
and  he  had  also  seen  something  of  it.  He  knew 
that  one  fellow,  in  needy  circumstances,  had  been 
engaged  almost  at  the  door  of  the  university,  and 


Three  Letters  117 

he  had  been  advanced  rapidly.  He  had  to  begin 
low,  but  his  college  training  told  very  quickly;  he 
was  what  business  men  called  "  good  material," 
capable  of  understanding  and  of  thinking  for  him- 
self, as  soon  as  a  little  of  his  self-consciousness  and 
conceit  had  been  rubbed  off.  And,  counting  from 
the  day  of  his  graduation,  Leonard  had  lost  only 
two  or  three  years.  Why  could  not  he,  starting  a 
little  later,  do  as  well  as  others  ?  He  had  the  health 
and  the  strength  and  the  mental  ability,  if  only  he 
could  decide  how  to  apply  them.  It  would  be  rather 
difficult  to  come  down  to  a  small  salary  basis  of 
living,  but  surely  he  could  do  it,  if  only  he  could 
find  the  occupation  that  promised  something. 

"  I'll  go  back  to  the  city  at  once,"  he  decided. 
Then  he  recalled  what  Alvord  had  said,  and  the 
reason  of  it  was  apparent  to  him.  Opportunities 
were  few  and  far  between  during  the  summer 
months,  and  living  in  the  city  would  be  more  costly 
than  living  on  the  farm.  The  friends  who  might 
help  him  were  nearly  all  away,  and  business  was 
at  a  low  ebb.  Men  were  discharged  rather  than 
employed  at  such  a  season.  It  would  be  better  to 
wait  until  there  was  a  need  of  willing  workers  and 
a  chance  to  reach  those  in  authority,  now  away 
on  vacations.  In  the  meanwhile,  he  might  write  to 
some  of  those  whom  he  could  reasonably  expect 


Ii8  Delightful  Dodd 

to  be  friendly  to  him,  explain  the  situation,  and 
inform  them  that  any  honourable  employment,  hav- 
ing something  of  promise  for  the  future  in  it,  would 
be  acceptable  to  him.  His  father  had  had  many 
business  friends  who  would  surely  do  what  they 
could  to  give  or  get  employment  for  the  son,  and 
some  of  these  he  himself  knew  quite  well. 

"  But,"  he  argued,  "  the  fellow  who  expects  to 
do  well  in  any  kind  of  a  new  stunt  has  to  go  into 
training.  Work  is  going  to  be  a  new  stunt  for  me, 
and  the  harder  the  training  I  get  this  summer,  the 
better  the  record  I  will  be  able  to  make  next  fall. 
I  ought  to  go  back  now,  get  any  old  job  there  is, 
and  train  myself  for  the  real  business  that  is  to 
follow.  I've  got  to  get  used  to  the  restrictions  and 
the  office  hours  and  the  monotony  before  I'll  be 
of  any  use  at  all.  Besides,  I  can't  stay  here,  for 
I  haven't  the  money,  and  I  certainly  don't  like  the 
idea  of  borrowing  any  from  Alvord.  It  will  have 
to  come  out  of  the  little  that's  saved  from  the  wreck 
of  the  bank,  and  the  smaller  the  inroads  I  make  into 
that,  the  better  for  me.  If  I've  got  to  earn  a  living 
or  part  of  a  living,  I  can't  begin  to  practise  the 
stunt  any  too  soon." 

Leonard  was  waking  up,  although  he  did  not 
fully  appreciate  the  fact.  He  had  the  energy,  he 
had  the  ability,  he  had  the  courage,  but  all  had  been 


Three  Letters  119 

dormant.  After  the  first  shock  of  the  news,  he  had 
spent  no  time  in  repining;  he  had  been  bewildered 
and  uncertain,  but  he  gave  his  thought  to  the  future 
rather  than  the  past.  The  circumstances  were  such 
that  he  needed  to  be  forced,  to  have  a  difficult  and 
necessary  task  ahead  of  him. 

"  I've  got  to  do  something  while  waiting,"  he 
said.  "If  there's  nothing  here,  why  —  " 

He  stopped  short  in  his  walk. 

"  Great  thunder!  "  he  exclaimed.  "  They're  just 
crying  for  help  here,  and  where  can  I  go  into  train- 
ing for  work  better  than  on  a  farm!  I've  got  to 
practise  working  —  just  plain  working  at  anything 
—  and  I'll  bet  Dodd  would  rather  have  a  farm-hand 
than  a  boarder.  I'll  hunt  him  up." 

He  turned  back  and  seemed  almost  cheerful  as 
he  walked  rapidly  to  the  house.  It  was  something 
to  have  solved  the  first  incidental  problem  of  the 
new  situation ;  it  was  also  something  to  have  solved 
it  so  that  he  did  not  have  to  leave  Dodd's  farm 
immediately,  but  he  did  not  tell  himself  why  a  solu- 
tion that  kept  him  here  was  especially  pleasing  to 
him.  Perhaps  he  did  not  reason  it  out. 

But  Leonard's  walk  and  manner  had  changed 
completely  within  the  space  of  a  few  hours :  he  had 
really  waked  up,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to 
say  that  he  had  been  awakened. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

LEONARD     GOES     INTO     TRAINING 

DODD  was  sitting  on  the  porch,  placidly  smoking 
a  cigar  when  Leonard  found  him.  Standing  in  the 
house  drive  was  a  horse  and  wagon,  evidently  the 
property  of  a  man  who  was  talking  excitedly  to 
Dodd.  The  man,  approaching  the  porch,  gesticu- 
lated wildly,  while  Dodd's  interest  seemed  to  be 
centred  in  his  cigar. 

"We  did  the  work,  didn't  we?"  demanded  the 
man. 

Dodd  nodded. 

"  Well,  I  want  my  money,"  the  man  declared. 

"  And  I  want  my  jackscrew,"  said  Dodd. 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  your  jackscrew !  " 
asserted  the  man. 

"  Then  you'd  better  find  out  something  about  it," 
said  Dodd,  pleasantly. 

"  There's  an  old,  unclaimed  jackscrew  down  at 
High's  place,  below  Neahtawanta,"  the  man  sug- 
gested. 


Leonard  Goes  into  Training       121 

"  That  isn't  mine,"  returned  Dodd.  "  My  jack- 
screw  wasn't  an  old  one." 

"  Oh,  this  is  a  good  jackscrew,  all  right  enough," 
said  the  man.  "  I  didn't  mean  old  in  the  sense 
that  it  is  useless." 

"  I  suppose,"  remarked  Dodd,  thoughtfully, 
"  that  the  job  at  High's  was  the  last  one  you  had 
to  do  on  the  peninsula." 

"What  makes  you  think  that?"  demanded  the 
man. 

"  Because  you  wouldn't  have  been  thoughtless 
enough  to  leave  my  jackscrew  behind  if  you  had 
had  any  further  use  for  it." 

"  Oh,  devil  take  the  old  jackscrew,  anyway !  " 
exclaimed  the  man.  "  I  haven't  got  time  to  bother 
with  it.  I  want  the  cash  for  repairing  your  wind- 
mill." 

"  And  I  want  my  jackscrew,"  persisted  Dodd, 
still  placidly  smoking. 

"  I've  told  you  where  it  is,"  said  the  man. 

"  But  it  isn't  here,"  said  Dodd. 

"  Do  you  expect  me  to  go  for  it  ?  "  the  man  asked, 
angrily. 

"  No;  oh,  no,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Since  I've  lived 
on  this  peninsula  I've  learned  not  to  expect  anybody 
to  return  anything  of  mine.  We'll  just  call  the 


122  Delightful   Dodd 

jackscrew  yours,  and  you  give  me  a  receipt  for  the 
windmill  job." 

"  What !  "  the  man  fairly  yelled. 

"  Oh,  suit  yourself,"  said  Dodd,  conciliatorily. 
"  If  you'd  rather  return  the  jackscrew  and  get  cash 
for  the  job,  it's  all  the  same  to  me." 

"  You  have  to  drive  to  Neahtawanta  every  little 
while,"  urged  the  man,  "  and  you  can  get  it  your- 
self." 

"  I  can,"  admitted  Dodd,  "  but  I  won't."  Thus 
far  he  had  spoken  as  if  the  matter  were  one  that 
did  not  interest  him  particularly,  but  now  he  put 
a  little  more  earnestness  into  his  tone  and  manner. 
"  I  naturally  supposed  that  you  had  your  own  equip- 
ment for  your  own  work,  although  my  experience 
in  Michigan  ought  to  have  taught  me  better,  but 
you  needed  a  jackscrew,  and  I  provided  one.  Then 
one  of  your  men  wanted  to  borrow  the  jackscrew, 
to  use  on  the  job  over  at  Ben  Tainter's  place.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  I  had  done  my  share  in  providing 
tools  for  the  job  I  was  paying  for,  but  I  let  him 
have  the  jackscrew.  Of  course,  he  was  going  to 
return  it.  Well,  I  waited  a  week,  and  then  I  went 
over  to  Tainter's.  Your  men  had  gone  on  to  Sib- 
ley's,  taking  the  jackscrew  with  them.  I  drove 
to  Sibley's  the  next  day,  but  they  had  moved  along 
to  Gregg's.  Then  I  quit.  You  see,"  confidentially, 


Leonard  Goes  into  Training       123 

"  I've  pretty  near  reached  the  limit  on  this  borrow- 
ing business.  I've  been  wondering  ever  since  I  got 
up  here  what  the  people  did  before  we  came.  Why, 
when  I  want  to  do  a  little  work  in  my  garden,  it's 
more  than  an  even  chance  that  I'll  have  to  walk 
or  drive  two  or  three  miles  to  get  the  garden  tools 
some  neighbour  borrowed  a  week  before.  I'm 
keeping  one  ice-cream  freezer  just  to  loan  now. 
We  brought  one  with  us  when  we  came,  but  we 
never  could  keep  it  with  us  after  the  neighbours 
heard  about  it,  and  we  got  so  tired  chasing  it  up 
that  we  bought  another  for  our  own  use." 

"  Don't  the  neighbours  get  that  one,  too?  "  asked 
Leonard,  breaking  into  a  conversation  that  had  been 
sufficiently  amusing  to  divert  his  mind  from  his 
own  troubles. 

Dodd  winked  solemnly. 

"  The  neighbours  don't  know  about  it,"  he  ex- 
plained. "  When  one  of  them  comes  to  borrow  our 
freezer,  I  just  say :  '  Why,  certainly.  Glad  to  let 
you  have  it.  Just  run  right  over  to  Tainter's,  and 
tell  him  to  let  you  take  it.'  I've  been  loaning  that 
old  freezer  right  along  for  three  years  since  I  last 
saw  it.  It  never  gets  home  any  more,  and  I  keep 
track  of  it  in  a  little  book,  so  that  I  can  always  tell 
where  to  send  the  next  man  who  wants  it.  But," 
he  added,  turning  suddenly  on  the  windmill  man, 


124  Delightful   Dodd 

"  the  freezer  is  the  limit ;  I'm  not  going  to  buy 
another  jackscrew  just  to  be  clever  to  windmill 
men." 

"  I'll  sue  you  for  the  bill,"  the  man  threatened. 

"  And  I'll  have  you  arrested  for  larceny  as 
bailee,"  returned  Dodd,  with  perfect  good  humour. 
"  That  will  liven  things  up  a  bit,  and  some  of  the 
boarders  have  been  complaining  that  it's  pretty  dull 
here." 

The  windmill  man  was  angry,  but  he  knew  that 
this  quiet,  whimsical  old  fellow  had  the  best  of 
him. 

"  If  I  bring  the  jackscrew  back,  will  you  pay 
me  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  You  bring  it  back,"  said  Dodd,  "  and,  if  it's 
mine  and  in  good  condition,  and  you  say  . '  Thank 
you  '  or  '  Much  obliged/  or  something  else  to  show 
that  you  can  appreciate  clever  treatment,  I'll  pay 
your  bill." 

The  man  did  not  know  whether  to  be  angry  or 
not.  The  words  seemed  harsh,  but  the  tone  and 
manner  were  mild  and  conciliatory. 

"  But  if  you're  not  polite  about  it,"  added  Dodd, 
gently  reproving,  "  I  shall  have  to  charge  you 
rental  for  the  time  you  have  had  the  jackscrew." 

The  windmill  man  seemed  on  the  point  of  ex- 
ploding, but  he  finally  turned  to  his  wagon  without 


Leonard  Goes  into  Training       125 

a  word.  His  experience  with  Dodd  had  not  been 
such  as  to  encourage  him  to  any  further  effort. 

"  I  hate  to  do  that,"  said  Dodd,  turning  to  Leon- 
ard, "  but  it's  for  his  own  good,  as  we  say  when 
we  reprove  children,  and,  besides,  I  want  the  jack- 
screw." 

Leonard  smiled,  and  then  reverted  to  his  own 
troubles. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  said,  "  you  need  more  help  here, 
don't  you?" 

Dodd  leaned  over  and  caught  Leonard  by  the 
arm,  speaking  with  humourously  impressive  ear- 
nestness. 

"  Have  you  found  a  man  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes." 

"  Wait !  "  said  Dodd,  rising.  "  I'll  get  out  the 
old  double-barrelled  shotgun  that  scatters  over  an 
entire  county,  and  we'll  put  this  fellow  to  work, 
or  fix  him  so  that  he  won't  sit  down  all  summer. 
It's  loaded  with  rock  salt." 

"  It  isn't  necessary  in  this  case,"  returned  Leon- 
ard. "  The  man  wants  to  go  to  work  for  you." 

"  I  like  fairy-tales  in  their  proper  place,"  said 
Dodd,  ruefully,  "  but  I  don't  like  to  have  them 
put  forward  as  facts." 

"  This  is  not  a  fairy-tale,  Mr.  Dodd,"  asserted 
Leonard,  earnestly.  "  I  am  the  man,  and  I  want 


126  Delightful  Dodd 

to  go  to  work  on  the  farm.  I  don't  know  much 
about  the  work,  but  I'll  do  my  best." 

Dodd  looked  at  him  quizzically. 

"  Well,  now,  I've  had  people  with  all  kinds  of 
whims  here,"  he  remarked ;  "  I've  had  people  who 
wanted  occupation  of  one  kind  or  another,  but  never 
before  one  who  wanted  a  useful  occupation.  Don't 
you  know  it's  bad  form  to  tackle  anything  that's 
more  than  just  exercise  in  the  vacation  season? 
If  you  must  work  to  be  happy,  try  something  in 
the  line  of  sport,  but  don't  upset  the  whole  theory 
of  civilization  by  making  yourself  useful." 

"  I'm  in  earnest,  Mr.  Dodd,"  Leonard  persisted. 

"  Who  would  have  thought,"  said  Dodd,  mus- 
ingly, "  that  one  useful  woman  could  have  so  quickly 
made  a  useful  man !  " 

"  You  misunderstand  the  situation  entirely,"  re- 
turned Leonard,  flushing.  "  It  is  not  a  whim,  but 
a  necessity.  I've  got  to  go  to  work  at  something. 
The  bank  has  busted." 

Dodd's  manner  changed  instantly. 

"  The  bank  in  which  your  money  is  invested  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  That's  it,"  replied  Leonard.  "  I  don't  know 
how  much  will  be  saved  from  the  wreck,  but  there's 
no  more  idleness  for  me." 

"  You  are  discouraged,"  said  Dodd,  kindly.     "  It 


Leonard  Goes  into  Training      127 

has  come  so  suddenly  that  it  has  upset  you,  or  you 
never  would  talk  of  going  to  work  on  a  farm. 
There  are  other  opportunities  for  a  man  of  your 
ability  and  energy.  Take  time  for  thought  before 
deciding  on  a  course  of  action." 

"  While  I  am  thinking,"  said  Leonard,  "  why 
should  I  not  have  a  temporary  occupation?  It 
seems  to  me  advisable  to  stay  here  for  the  pres- 
ent." 

"  Let  us  go  to  my  little  old  study  and  talk  it 
over,"  Dodd  advised,  taking  him  by  the  arm.  "  If 
you  will  permit  me,  I  shall  be  glad  to  advise  you. 
I  have  some  financial  knowledge,  you  know,  as  a 
result  of  my  earlier  experience,  and  it  would  seem 
to  me  that  your  affairs  may  need  your  personal 
attention." 

This  was  said  with  a  gentleness  and  courtesy 
that  made  Leonard  feel  that  he  had  found  a  real 
friend,  —  sympathetic,  tactful,  wise. 

They  went  to  the  little  study  where  Dodd  had 
his  desk,  long  unused,  and  his  reference  books,  and 
there  Leonard  explained  the  situation  and  produced 
Alvord's  letter. 

"  This  Alvord  is  a  man  that  you  can  trust  im- 
plicitly?" asked  Dodd. 

"  Oh,  unquestionably,"  replied  Leonard. 

"  Then  it  seems  to  me  that  you  cannot  do  better 


128  Delightful  Dodd 

than  to  follow  his  advice  and  stay  here,"  said  Dodd. 
"  But  why  should  you  go  to  work  on  the  farm?  " 

"  I  have  told  you  that  I  have  practically  no  money 
left,  for  one  thing." 

"  I  do  not  see  how  that  affects  the  situation  at 
all,"  returned  Dodd.  "  We  all  take  pleasure  in  do- 
ing things  for  our  friends." 

"  But  I  am  only  a  boarder  —  a  summer  boarder, 
and  —  " 

"  Friendships,"  interrupted  Dodd,  "  are  of  uncer- 
tain growth.  One  may  learn  to  know  a  friend  in 
a  single  night,  or  it  may  take  years.  We  have  seen 
a  good  deal  of  each  other  in  the  short  time  you 
have  been  here,  and  I  have  hoped  to  count  you  as 
something  more  than  a  boarder." 

This  was  so  unexpected,  and  real  sympathy  so 
strongly  affects  one  in  the  moment  of  adversity, 
that  Leonard  felt  a  little  moisture  in  his  eyes,  as 
he  impulsively  took  Dodd's  hand. 

"  Besides,"  Dodd  added,  before  Leonard  could 
speak,  "  there  should  be  a  bond  of  fellowship  in 
the  fact  that  both  our  banks  have  gone  to  the  same 
hell." 

The  transition  was  so  sudden  that  it  forced  a 
laugh  from  Leonard,  which  was  just  what  Dodd 
wished.  It  is  so  awkward  to  be  thanked  by  a  man 
who  feels  deeply. 


Leonard  Goes  into  Training       129 

"Why  hell?"  asked  Leonard. 

"  That's  where  bad  banks  must  go,"  said  Dodd, 
"  and  a  bank  that  fails  must  be  a  bad  one.  I  only 
wish  I'd  known  of  the  departure  of  yours  in  time 
to  send  a  message  to  mine.  I'd  like  to  know  whether 
the  receiver  went  there  with  it.  If  he  did,  it  would 
take  away  some  of  the  bitterness." 

"  Before  I  can  thank  you,"  said  Leonard,  "  you 
have  me  laughing,  and  before  I'm  through  laugh- 
ing you  again  have  my  heart  rilled  with  gratitude. 
But  really,  Mr.  Dodd,  I  can't  remain  here  as  a 
guest.  I  want  to  go  to  work.  I  want  to  move  out 
to  the  quarters  of  the  other  hands,  and  show  that 
I'm  the  real  thing.  If  you  won't  consent  to  that, 
I  shall  have  to  go/' 

"Why?"  asked  Dodd,  simply. 

"  Because,"  replied  Leonard,  as  he  recalled  his 
own  argument  to  himself,  "  I  want  to  go  into  train- 
ing. I  don't  know  how  to  work ;  I'm  not  in  proper 
physical  or  mental  condition  for  continued  effort 
in  one  line,  and  I  want  to  put  myself  in  such  con- 
dition before  I  return  to  the  city  and  take  up  busi- 
ness. Any  regular  work  will  be  helpful.  But  we 
won't  call  it  work,  if  that  seems  to  put  a  doubt  on 
your  friendship;  we'll  say  that  I'm  going  into 
training  for  the  most  important  athletic  feat  of 
my  life,  and  that  you're  going  to  be  my  trainer. 


130  Delightful  Dodd 

Surely  you  can't  refuse  to  accept  the  position  of 
trainer." 

"  You  put  it  very  cleverly,"  said  Dodd,  with  a 
smile,  "  and  I'll  have  to  admit  that  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  truth  in  what  you  say.  A  habit  of  work  is 
mighty  valuable.  So  I'll  take  you  on  as  one  of  the 
hands,  but  you'll  keep  your  present  room  and  —  " 

"  I'll  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  interrupted  Leon- 
ard, decisively.  "  I'm  going  to  be  a  farm-hand,  live 
with  the  farm-hands,  and  eat  with  the  farm-hands. 
I  can't  live  on  one  plan  and  work  on  the  other;  I 
can't  come  to  your  guests'  table  in  my  farm  clothes, 
and  they  would  shy  off  from  me  when  I  met  them 
in  the  halls.  A  man  coming  in  from  the  fields  has 
no  business  mixing  up  with  them  until  he  has 
changed  his  clothes.  And  the  hours  of  the  meals 
are  different.  I'm  in  earnest,  Mr.  Dodd;  I'm  not 
going  into  this  for  play,  and  I  don't  want  to  be 
put  in  the  position  of  seeming  to  do  it  that  way. 
In  fact,  I'll  go  back  to  the  city  first,  taking  with 
me  a  most  grateful  memory  of  what  will  seem  to 
me  your  misapplied  generosity." 

Dodd  was  sorely  troubled.  His  was  a  generous 
nature  that  made  him  wish  to  help  any  one  who 
was  unfortunate,  and  he  was  the  more  anxious  to 
do  so  in  this  case  because  there  was  much  in  Leon- 
ard that  he  really  liked.  The  young  man  seemed 


Leonard  Goes  into  Training       131 

to  understand,  appreciate,  and  like  him,  and  Dodd 
had  talked  more  freely  with  him  than  with  any  one 
else  who  had  been  to  the  farm  in  several  years. 
They  had  enjoyed  each  other's  company  in  a  quiet 
way,  and  had  been  together  as  much  as  circum- 
stances would  permit.  Consequently,  the  idea  of 
sending  the  young  man  to  the  men's  quarters  dis- 
tressed Dodd,  although  he  perfectly  understood  the 
other's  point  of  view. 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  wish,"  he  said,  finally,  "  al- 
though I  shall  regret  to  lose  you  from  the  main 
house.  I'll  turn  you  over  to  the  head  man  to- 
morrow." 

"  With  instructions  to  treat  me  like  any  other 
farm-hand  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  And  pay  me  what  I'm  worth,  —  not  a  cent 
more?  " 

"  No  more  and  no  less." 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Dodd.  You  can  show  your 
friendship  in  no  way  that  I  will  appreciate  more." 

"  But  there  is  one  stipulation  I  would  like  to 
make,"  said  Dodd. 

"What  is  that?" 

"  It  is  a  favour  to  me,"  explained  Dodd,  with 
that  natural  courtesy  that  was  one  of  his  greatest 
charms.  "  I  would  like  to  have  as  much  of  your 


132  Delightful  Dodd 

company  as  you  can  conveniently  give  me  without 
interfering1  with  your  work.  I  shall  hope  to  have 
you  as  my  guest  at  the  main  house  all  day  Sunday 
and  any  and  all  evenings  that  you  are  not  too  tired. 
If  you  will  grant  me  this  much,  I  will  agree  to  leave 
you  entirely  to  the  mercies  of  the  head  farmer  in 
all  matters  of  work." 

They  shook  hands  on  the  bargain,  and  each 
thought  the  better  of  the  other  for  it.  As  a  matter 
of  self-respect,  the  young  man  wished  to  stand  on 
his  own  merits,  and  Dodd  had  delicately  recognized 
this  when  he  agreed  to  leave  him  absolutely  to  the 
head  farmer. 

"  There's  something  to  that  fellow,"  said  Dodd 
to  himself. 

And  Leonard,  on  his  part,  saw  how  cleverly 
Dodd  had  made  so  much  of  a  guest  of  him  as  was 
possible,  and  clothed  it  all  in  the  pleasing  fiction 
of  a  favour  to  himself. 

"  A  finer  man  never  lived,"  was  the  way  Leonard 
put  it  in  his  musings.  "  I  wish  I  could  show  how 
strongly  I  feel  that." 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


A   GENERAL   MISUNDERSTANDING 

Miss  MARSDEN  was  an- 
noyed to  find  that  she  was 
disappointed  in  Leonard.  She 
told  herself  that  there  was  no 
reason  why  she  should  have 
any  feeling  one  way  or  an- 
other, but  she  was  distinctly 
disappointed.  He  was  clever, 
entertaining1,  and  very  manly 
in  appearance,  but  that  was  not 
enough.  A  man  of  energy 
and  purpose  was  needed  to 
command  her  respect,  and  she  had  begun  to  think 
that  there  was  something  of  this  back  of  his  indo- 
lence. He  had  talked  of  doing  something,  —  and 
then  he  had  gone  to  work  on  the  farm. 

"  So  childishly  theatrical  and  absurd !  "  she  com- 
mented. 


134  Delightful  Dodd 

For  it  seemed  to  Jessie  Marsden  that  Leonard 
was  making  this  a  part  of  an  attempted  flirtation. 
By  nature  and  the  necessities  of  her  previous  life 
she  was  industrious  herself;  she  believed  in  work; 
she  had  expressed  an  admiration  for  men  who 
worked,  and  intimated  a  certain  contempt  for  idlers. 
So  he  had  ostentatiously  gone  to  work  as  a  farm- 
hand. 

Miss  Marsden  was  not  ordinarily  egotistical,  but 
in  this  case  the  circumstances  certainly  seemed  to 
warrant  her  conclusion.  Leonard  had  made  one 
or  two  amusing  attempts  to  do  a  little  work  as 
a  divertisement,  and  had  failed.  He  had  shown  a 
very  decided  liking  for  her  society  and  a  consid- 
erable interest  in  her  views  of  life  and  work.  She 
had  rather  hoped,  without  putting  the  hope  in 
words,  that  he  would  really  prove  his  worth;  in 
fact,  she  had  expected  him  to  do  so.  And  she  was 
disappointed.  He  had  been  unable  to  rise  above 
a  silly  and  spectacular  thing,  the  main  point  being, 
apparently,  that  it  should  be  done  under  her  eyes. 

"  I  thought  there  was  more  to  him  than  that," 
she  mused,  "  and  yet,  why  should  I  ?  And  what 
difference  does  it  make?  If  he  chooses  to  be  ridic- 
ulous, let  him.  I  hate  people  who  pose  for  effect !  " 

Incidentally,  Mrs.  Congrove  made  matters  worse. 
Mrs.  Congrove  had  improved  considerably  during 


A  General  Misunderstanding       135 

their  stay  at  Old  Mission,  and,  while  still  preferring 
to  be  alone  with  her  sister  most  of  the  time,  their 
walks  and  talks  and  the  occasional  companionship 
of  Dodd  and  Leonard  had  aroused  her  to  an  inter- 
est in  the  things  happening  about  her,  —  a  condi- 
tion of  affairs  for  which  Miss  Marsden  was  striv- 
ing. So  she  had  not  failed  to  notice  the  seemingly 
extraordinary  course  pursued  by  Leonard. 

"  Jessie,"  she  said,  "  you  certainly  have  a  mission 
in  life  that  I  never  suspected.  You  ought  to  devote 
yourself  to  the  task  of  getting  lazy  people  to  work. 
Why,  you  had  me  sorting  cherries,  and  now  you've 
got  Mr.  Leonard  in  overalls." 

"  What  have  I  to  do  with  that  ?  "  asked  Jessie, 
innocently. 

"  Why,  your  industry  and  your  views  have  made 
him  ashamed  of  himself.  He's  doing  it  for  you." 

"  I  hope  not,"  returned  Jessie,  with  an  irritable- 
ness  that  was  unusual.  "  It's  no  compliment  that 
a  girl  should  inspire  a  man  to  make  a  fool  of  him- 
self." 

"  Why,  Jessie,  that's  the  average  girl's  mission  in 
life,"  protested  Mrs.  Congrove.  "  They're  always 
leading  men  to  do  just  that  thing." 

"  I  disclaim  all  responsibility  in  this  case,"  in- 
sisted Jessie. 

"  You  can't,"  asserted  Mrs.  Congrove.     "  What 


136  Delightful  Dodd 

else  could  possibly  have  put  him  to  work  in  this 
romantic  way  ?  " 

"  Idiotic  way !  "  retorted  Jessie.  Strangely  em- 
phatic was  Jessie  in  expressing  her  disapprobation. 
Ordinarily  she  was  very  tolerant  of  what  seemed  to 
her  shortcomings  in  others.  She  had  her  own  views, 
but  she  seldom  criticized  individuals,  although  she 
might  find  fault  occasionally  with  tendencies  and 
customs.  Yet  there  was  a  sense  of  personal  vexa- 
tion in  this  instance.  "  Let  the  boy  alone,"  she 
added,  after  a  moment.  "  He  wants  to  play  farmer, 
and  why  should  we  interfere  with  children  at  play? 
If  he  isn't  equal  to  a  man's  game,  we  can  only  be 
sorry  for  him." 

Mrs.  Congrove  looked  at  her  sister  and  smiled. 
She  had  found  a  method  of  teasing  the  ordinarily 
imperturbable  Jessie.  - 

Meanwhile,  Leonard  had  entered  upon  his  duties 
with  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  Leonard  did  not  yet  fully  appreciate  his  loss. 
He  never  had  cared  for  money,  because  he  always 
had  had  it;  he  had  no  ambition  for  great  wealth, 
and  he  never  had  been  a  spendthrift.  Money  rep- 
resented only  a  certain  amount  of  comfort  and 
pleasure.  If  he  could  have  the  comfort  and  pleas- 
ure desired  for  the  moment  without  money,  why, 
money  ceased  to  be  of  any  earthly  importance.  And 


A   General  Misunderstanding       137 

just  at  this  moment  he  was  perfectly  contented  to 
go  to  work  on  the  farm,  —  in  fact,  he  was  rather 
pleased  to  have  the  excuse  for  doing  so.  He  be- 
lieved it  would  demonstrate  an  earnestness  and 
energy  that  he  wished  to  show  he  possessed.  It 
never  occurred  to  him  that  the  fact  that  others 
lacked  knowledge  of  the  reason  for  his  action  would 
lead  them  to  put  a  disagreeable  interpretation  upon 
it,  —  an  interpretation  that  made  him  look  silly. 
With  an  instinctive  dislike  to  having  his  private 
affairs  made  the  subject  of  idle  gossip,  he  had 
pledged  Dodd  to  secrecy,  and  left  the  others  to 
speculate  as  to  why  he  should  go  to  work  on  the 
farm. 

"  I  guess  he's  going  to  write  a  book,"  said  Dodd, 
when  questioned.  "  This  is  the  age  of  realism,  you 
know,  and  a  fellow  has  got  to  have  the  experiences 
he  gives  his  characters.  But  there  are  some  writers 
I  could  mention  who  do  not  seem  to  carry  it  far 
enough." 

"  In  what  way  ?  "  he  was  asked. 

"  Why,  it  would  be  a  boon  to  humanity  if  they'd 
have  themselves  killed  in  order  to  get  a  proper  com- 
prehension of  the  sensations.  And  then,"  he  added, 
"  there  are  others  who  fail  to  make  the  most  of 
their  opportunities.  I've  been  expecting  to  have 
some  absconder  put  in  the  plea  that  he  didn't  want 


138  Delightful   Dodd 

the  money,  but  was  only  after  the  feelings  and 
sensations  of  a  hunted  criminal,  in  order  that  he 
might  make  his  forthcoming  book  realistic.  You 
can  put  up  '  the  interests  of  art '  as  an  excuse  for 
almost  anything  these  days." 

But  Leonard  remained  sublimely  unconscious  of 
all  this.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  say  that  he  was 
not  greatly  worried  by  thoughts  of  the  future,  but 
he  was  not  so  greatly  worried  as  most  young  men 
would  have  been  in  his  case,  because  the  present 
situation  suited  him  reasonably  well,  and  he  never 
had  been  accustomed  to  give  much  thought  to  the 
future.  In  brief,  he  was  rather  proud  of  the  way 
he  adapted  himself  to  circumstances,  and,  since  he 
had  solved  the  first  problem  that  confronted  him, 
poverty  had  not  seemed  as  serious  a  matter  as  it 
had  at  first.  The  work  was  no  more  than  a  novel 
vacation  experience.  He  had  worked  as  hard  in 
athletics,  and  had  been  much  more  uncomfortable 
in  camp.  He  was  solemn,  however,  when  he  set- 
tled down  to  write  to  the  various  business  men 
who  might  be  of  assistance  to  him.  This  brought 
home  to  him  the  fact  that  he  was  not  going  to 
be  able  to  "  break  training,"  as  he  did  after  a  foot- 
ball game  or  a  boat-race.  Circumstances  might 
give  zest  to  this  preliminary  practice,  but  it  was 
another  thing  to  confront  a  complete  and  permanent 


A  General  Misunderstanding       139 

change  in  his  whole  manner  of  life.  After  writing 
the  letters,  explaining  his  situation  and  his  needs, 
and  expressing  a  willingness  to  work  hard  at  any- 
thing that  offered,  he  went  for  a  long,  moody  walk 
in  the  woods.  But  the  next  day  he  was  again  look- 
ing on  the  bright  side  of  the  affair,  and  joking  with 
Ben  Ackerman  as  if  he  hadn't  a  care  in  the  world. 
The  work  was  a  pretty  serious  strain  on  Leonard 
at  first.  He  was  physically  sound  and  strong,  but 
he  was  out  of  practice,  and  the  exertion  made  his 
muscles  ache.  Consequently,  he  was  seen  little  at 
the  main  house,  being  too  tired  to  care  for  the 
association  of  the  boarders.  He  had  occasional 
chats  with  Dodd  out  at  the  barn  or  the  carriage- 
shed,  and  he  learned  to  know  something  of  Acker- 
man, the  man  Dodd  had  captured  in  the  road,  and 
who  now  had  the  next  room  to  Leonard.  In  truth, 
Leonard  found  Ackerman  interesting.  The  man 
was  a  Hercules  without  looking  it,  and  as  good- 
natured  as  he  was  strong.  He  had  made  his  repu- 
tation with  the  other  men  by  putting  one  long  arm 
around  the  arms  and  body  of  the  strongest  of  them 
and  carrying  him  away  as  if  he  had  been  a  child 
caught  up  under  its  mother's  arm,  and  he  had 
demonstrated  his  ability  to  handle  bags  and  barrels 
as  no  other  farm-hand  could.  He  was  rough,  good- 
hearted,  and  faithful,  —  the  kind  of  a  man  who 


140  Delightful   Dodd 

would  dare  anything,  d©  anything,  for  a  friend. 
And  he  had  a  great  liking  and  admiration  for  Leon- 
ard, and  was,  indeed,  proud  of  the  chance  to  asso- 
ciate with  him.  The  latter  was  a  gentleman,  but 
unassuming.  Ackerman's  experience  with  so-called 
gentlemen  had  given  him  the  impression  that  they 
were  supercilious  and  patronizing.  But  Leonard 
was  unquestionably  a  gentleman,  and  he  was  com- 
panionable and  democratic. 

So  strong  was  Ackerman's  liking  and  so  sincere 
his  admiration  that  he  gratefully  accepted  sugges- 
tions from  Leonard  that  he  would  have  resented 
in  his  own  forceful  way  from  another. 

"  If  I  had  to  eat  with  those  people  at  the  big 
house,"  he  told  Leonard  one  day,  "  I'd  throw  a 
fit.  I  wouldn't  know  what  to  do." 

"  It's  not  so  important  to  know  what  to  do  as 
to  know  what  not  to  do,"  laughed  Leonard.  "  If 
you  ever  have  to  eat  with  them,  you  might  begin 
by  not  eating  with  your  knife." 

Leonard  sat  next  to  Ackerman  at  the  men's  table, 
and  the  rash  way  the  latter  handled  his  knife  was 
really  distressing.  Others  there  were  who  were 
somewhat  careless,  but  they  were  not  directly  under 
Leonard's  eye,  and  they  were  not  quite  so  fearless 
of  consequences. 

"  Say,  it  ain't  the  fashion  to  eat  with  the  fingers, 


A  General  Misunderstanding       141 

is  it?"  asked  Ackerman.  "I  used  to  do  that,  but 
I  quit." 

"  Why  not  try  the  fork  ?  "  suggested  Leonard. 
"  Careless  handling  of  the  knife  at  table  makes 
some  people  nervous." 

Ackerman,  while  not  quarrelsome,  did  not  take 
kindly  to  criticism  from  most  people,  but  he  meekly 
laid  down  both  knife  and  fork  and  watched  Leonard 
for  a  few  minutes.  Then  he  tried  to  imitate  him, 
and  thereafter  he  studied  to  handle  his  "  tools,"  as 
he  called  them,  properly.  No  greater  proof  of  ad- 
miration and  friendship  could  Ackerman  give  any 
one,  for  thus  eating  ceased  to  be  a  pleasure  to  him. 
In  other  ways,  too,  he  imitated  Leonard. 

"  I  can't  ever  win,"  he  said,  "  but  I  might  as 
well  make  a  stagger  at  the  real  thing.  I  always 
did  wish  I  was  a  gentleman." 

"  To  be  a  man  —  a  real  man  —  is  a  finer  thing," 
returned  Leonard.  "  There  are  too  many  alleged 
men  who  are  merely  male  bipeds." 

"  I  guess  that's  all  right,"  said  Ackerman,  look- 
ing puzzled,  "  but  I  don't  jest  get  you." 

But,  in  another  quarter,  Leonard  found  much 
to  trouble  him.  The  first  time  he  dined  at  the  main 
house  he  discovered  that  Miss  Marsden  was  regard- 
ing him  with  mild  amusement.  She  asked  him 


142  Delightful  Dodd 

about  the  farm  work  much  as  she  would  have  asked 
a  child  about  its  doll-house. 

"  It  has  been  rumoured,"  she  said,  "  that  you  are 
writing  a  book,  but  I  rather  incline  to  the  belief  that 
you  are  planning  to  go  on  the  stage." 

"Why  so?"  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  this  going  to  work  is  so  thrillingly  dra- 
matic," she  answered.  "  Such  nobleness  would  get 
wild  applause  from  the  galleries." 

"  Then  it  is  only  you,"  he  retorted,  warmly,  "  who 
has  the  right  to  work  when  and  how  you  please." 

"  Oh,  no !  "  she  answered.  "  Any  one  has  a  right 
to  strike  an  attitude  and  cry,  *  Behold !  I  will  prove 
my  worth  by  hoeing  potatoes ! '  But  it  is  difficult 
to  make  a  drama  out  of  a  comedy.  Still,  you  may 
learn  to  play  the  horny-handed  son  of  toil  well 
enough  to  catch  the  galleries." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  he  said,  "  that  my  present  occu- 
pation is  too  lowly  to  suit  you." 

Retiring  to  his  room,  Leonard  muttered :  "  She 
isn't  as  sincere  as  the  flighty  girls  of  fashion.  They 
at  least  make  no  pretence  of  ignoring  station  and 
honouring  work,  while  she —  Oh,  I  suppose  she 
made  a  mental  reservation  that  the  work  must  be 
genteel."  He  laughed  scornfully  and  somewhat 
bitterly. 


A  General  Misunderstanding       143 

Meanwhile,  Mrs.  Congrove  was  expressing  her 
astonishment. 

"  Why,  Jessie  Marsden !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  you're 
just  as  capricious  and  inconsistent  as  any  other  girl ! 
The  idea  of  showing  such  resentment  over  a  matter 
that  does  not  concern  you !  " 

"  It  was  foolish,"  admitted  Jessie,  meekly.  "  I 
don't  understand  why  I  did  it  myself.  I  think  it 
must  be  a  little  matter  of  personal  pique  because 
my  judgment  was  so  much  at  fault.  Perhaps  I 
really  did  hope  that  he  would  do  something,  —  not 
merely  pretend  to  do  something." 

Mrs.    Congrove  smiled   knowingly. 

"  If  you  value  the  independence  of  spinsterhood, 
perhaps  it  is  a  good  thing  for  you  that  he  has  failed 
to  rise  to  the  occasion,"  she  said. 

"  Don't  be  silly,  Grade,"  retorted  Jessie.  "  I'll 
ignore  him  so  far  as  possible  after  this." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE   PROWESS   OF   ACKERMAN 

THE  weather  conditions  having  given  Leonard 
and  Ackerman  a  day  off,  and  Dodd  being  in  need 
of  certain  things  from  Elk  Rapids,  the  two  men 
offered  to  make  the  trip,  and  Dodd  gladly  consented. 
So  attired  as  to  make  rain  a  question  of  little  mo- 
ment to  them,  they  hunted  up  Dodd  for  final  in- 
structions, and  found  him  talking  to  the  windmill 
man.  The  jackscrew  had  just  been  returned. 

"  If  I  were  a  mean  man,"  said  Dodd,  examining 
it  critically,  "  I'd  charge  you  something.  It's  all 
here,  but  it's  had  pretty  hard  usage,  and  won't  last 
me  as  long  as  it  should." 

'  You  promised  the  money  when  I  brought  the 
jackscrew  back,"  said  the  windmill  man,  "  and  this 
is  the  first  time  I've  been  able  to  get  up  here  since." 

"  That  arrangement  of  ours  isn't  outlawed  by 
the  statute  of  limitations  yet,  is  it  ?  "  asked  Dodd, 
eagerly. 

"  No,  it  isn't,"  answered  the  man,  who  had  no 
144 


The  Prowess  of  Ackerman        145 

sense  of  humour,  and  found  Dodd  simply  inex- 
plicable. 

"  Because,"  said  Dodd,  "  I'd  just  as  soon  you'd 
keep  the  jackscrew  and  let  me  off  on  the  windmill 
job." 

"  Well,  I  won't  do  it.  You've  given  me  enough 
trouble  already." 

"  Of  course  the  jackscrew  business  was  no  annoy- 
ance to  me,"  remarked  Dodd.  "  I  made  two  trips 
to  get  it,  but  I  guess  I  needed  the  exercise.  Is  there 
anything  else?  " 

"What  should  there  be?" 

"  I  didn't  know  but  you  had  forgotten  some- 
thing." 

"  No." 

"  Oh,  all  right."  Dodd  began  to  count  out  the 
money,  but  he  withheld  the  last  five  dollars  of  the 
amount. 

"  Five  dollars  short,"  said  the  man. 

"  Oh,  that's  all  right,"  returned  Dodd. 

"  No,  it  isn't  all  right,"  the  man  asserted  aggres- 
sively. 

Dodd  toyed  carelessly  with  a  five-dollar  bill,  and 
looked  at  the  windmill  man. 

"  Are  you  sure  you  haven't  forgotten  anything?  " 
he  asked. 


146  Delightful  Dodd 

The  man's  mind  reverted  to  their  previous  con- 
versation, and  his  face  got  red. 

"  Oh,  much  obliged  for  the  use  of  the  jackscrew," 
he  said. 

"  Ah ! "  remarked  Dodd,  handing  over  the  bill. 
"  Now  you  see  how  truly  it  is  said  that  politeness 
pays." 

When  the  man  had  gone,  Dodd  turned  to  Leonard 
and  said,  with  a  deep,  dismal  sigh :  "  It  is  hard 
to  be  schoolmaster  to  so  large  a  class.  But  there 
are  so  many  who  really  need  the  lessons ! " 

Then  he  told  them  what  he  wished  them  to  get 
at  Elk  Rapids,  —  some  supplies  not  to  be  had  at 
Old  Mission,  —  and  they  started. 

Dodd  offered  to  drive  them  to  Old  Mission,  where 
they  took  the  boat  across  the  bay,  but  they  refused 
to  permit  this.  With  big  boots  and  mackintoshes 
and  old  slouch  hats,  the  rain  and  mud  were  matters 
of  no  moment  to  them;  in  fact,  there  is  some  joy 
in  sloshing  around  when  one  is  dressed  for  it.  Be- 
sides, they  were  doomed  to  a  wetting,  anyway. 
But  they  Were  tough-looking  specimens  when  they 
reached  Old  Mission,  and  it  was  not  surprising 
that  people  on  the  dock  rather  avoided  them.  On 
the  boat,  too,  they  were  left  very  much  to  them- 
selves, although  they  could  not  fail  to  notice  that 
they  were  receiving  considerable  attention  from  a 


The  Prowess  of  Ackerman        147 

distance.  The  other  passengers  stood  about  in  little 
groups,  whispering  and  gesticulating. 

Now,  Ackerman  had  a  code  of  ethics  peculiarly 
his  own.  He  was  ordinarily  good-natured,  and  he 
had  been  known  to  laugh  at  affronts  that  would 
make  another  man  fight,  but  he  also  had  been  known 
to  fight  when  another  would  have  laughed.  In  the 
Ackerman  code  it  was  the  extreme  of  discourtesy 
to  make  a  stranger  the  object  of  whispered  criti- 
cisms or  furtive  glances,  and  intentional  discour- 
tesy was  something  to  be  resented  quickly  and 
sharply. 

"Think  I'm  the  prize  ox  at  a  cattle  show?"  he 
demanded,  suddenly  approaching  one  of  the  groups. 

"  Why,  no,"  the  man  nearest  to  him  replied,  con- 
ciliatorily.  "  We  was  jest  wonderin'  if  you  wasn't 
strangers  in  these  parts." 

"  We  been  here  longer'n  you  think,"  retorted 
Ackerman,  whereat  the  men  exchanged  quick,  mean- 
ing glances  that  puzzled  Leonard.  "  An'  I  guess 
we're  strong  enough  to  stay  till  we  get  ready  to  go," 
he  added.  "If  anybody  has  any  objections,  I'll 
stand  him  on  his  head." 

"  We  didn't  mean  no  harm,"  the  stranger  has- 
tened to  explain.  "  I  s'pose  you're  goin'  over  to 
see  where  the  robbery  was." 

"  What  if  we  are ! "   demanded  Ackerman,  al- 


148  Delightful   Dodd 

though  he  hadn't  the  faintest  idea  what  the  man 
was  talking  about. 

"  Oh,  we're  all  goin',"  said  the  man.  "  Every- 
body's goin'  that  can  git  away  from  work.  It's 
queer  how  those  desperadoes  got  away  so  easy." 

"  It  don't  take  much  of  a  man  to  get  away  from 
people  up  here,"  retorted  Ackerman.  Then,  sud- 
denly :  "  Look  the  other  way !  We  ain't  a  beauty 
show!" 

The  man  addressed  and  those  nearest  to  him 
turned  their  heads  so  suddenly  as  to  be  in  danger 
of  dislocating  their  necks,  whereupon  Ackerman, 
feeling  that  he  had  sufficiently  asserted  his  dignity, 
returned  to  Leonard.  Ackerman  realized  nothing 
except  that  some  people  were  "  getting  gay,"  as  he 
expressed  it,  but  the  affair  had  deeper  significance 
to  Leonard. 

"Ben,"  he  said,  "there's  been  trouble  at  Elk 
Rapids,  and  those  people  think  we're  the  guilty 
men." 

It  took  a  moment  for  Ackerman  to  grasp  this. 
Then  he  laughed. 

"  And  what  you  said,"  added  Leonard,  "  made 
the  matter  worse.  I'll  bet  they  try  to  arrest  us 
at  Elk  Rapids.  There  isn't  a  soul  on  board  who 
knows  me,  and  it's  my  first  trip  to  the  Rapids." 


The  Prowess  of  Ackerman        149 

"Oh,  won't  it  be  a  great  scrap!"  exclaimed 
Ackerman,  enthusiastically. 

"  We  look  like  desperadoes,  too,"  persisted  Leon- 
ard. 

"  Let's  act  like  'em,"  urged  Ackerman.  "  I'm 
dyin'  for  a  little  fun." 

"  Well,  I'm  not,"  asserted  Leonard.  "  These 
peace-loving  people  are  nasty  when  they  get  going. 
They  trail  the  people  they're  after  with  barrel-staves, 
pitchforks,  and  muzzle-loading  shotguns,  but  you 
bet  they  get  them  and  bring  them  back,  if  it's  only 
in  sections." 

"  I  don't  usually  back  up,"  returned  Ackerman, 
regretfully,  "  but  I  don't  want  to  get  you  into 
trouble." 

"  I  don't  mind  trouble  when  there's  reason  for 
it,"  explained  Leonard,  "  but  I  don't  want  to  get 
in  a  country  jail,  and  I  don't  want  to  make  a  cross- 
country run  in  front  of  all  the  men  and  dogs  of 
an  entire  township.  We'll  have  to  find  some  way 
to  show  who  we  are." 

"  Oh,  all  right,"  said  Ackerman,  resignedly.  "  I 
don't  look  for  trouble,  but  I  don't  dodge  it,  an'  I 
been  in  the  habit  of  havin'  excitement  about  once 
in  so  often.  I'm  due  now,  an'  these  people  makin' 
fools  of  themselves  looked  like  Providence.  There 


150  Delightful   Dodd 

probably  won't  be  another  chance  for  fun  this  sum- 
mer. But  I'm  ready  to  back  up  for  your  sake." 

Leonard  laughed  and  suggested  that  their  very 
earnest  conversation  already  had  attracted  further 
attention,  and  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  be  a 
little  less  serious.  So  they  laughed  and  chatted 
carelessly  during  the  rest  of  the  trip. 

The  rain  had  lightened  to  a  steady  drizzle  when 
they  reached  Elk  Rapids,  but  it  was  still  sufficient 
to  make  all  who  had  not  business  out-of-doors  seek 
shelter,  and  they  anticipated  little  trouble  to  escape 
the  curious  and  suspicious  eyes  that  had  followed 
them  on  the  boat.  In  this  they  were  mistaken,  how- 
ever. The  news  seemed  to  spread  rapidly,  and  they 
still  found  themselves  the  objects  of  disagreeable 
attention.  Leonard  tried  to  counteract  this  by  talk- 
ing of  Dodd  and  Old  Mission  when  they  were 
within  the  hearing  of  any  one  else,  but  this  did  not 
have  the  desired  effect.  In  a  store  they  visited 
they  overheard  comment  that  was  disquieting. 

"  They  wouldn't  dare  come  back,"  one  man  was 
saying. 

"  That's  jest  what  they'd  do,"  was  the  reply. 
"  Those  kind  of  fellers  ain't  afraid  of  anything. 
They  got  nerve.  They'd  come  back  and  hold  up 
the  town  if  they  thought  they'd  missed  anything. 


The   Prowess  of  Ackerman        151 

Besides,  this  is  jest  where  nobody 'd  be  looking  for 
'em." 

At  the  hotel  they  learned  the  details  of  the  affair. 
Two  fruit-buyers  had  arrived  late,  carrying  con- 
siderable cash,  which  they  had  deposited  in  the  safe 
in  the  hotel  office  for  want  of  a  better  place.  The 
safe  had  been  blown  open  during  the  night,  evi- 
dently by  men  who  were  following  the  fruit-buyers, 
the  money  taken,  and  a  running  fight  with  the 
marshal  and  a  few  citizens  had  resulted,  in  which 
one  of  the  citizens  had  been  shot  and  dangerously 
wounded.  This,  following  a  series  of  robberies  at 
Traverse  City,  had  convinced  the  people  that  there 
was  a  desperate  gang  in  the  vicinity.  The  robbers 
had  worn  masks,  had  temporarily  eluded  their  pur- 
suers, and  finally  had  escaped  in  a  stolen  sailboat, 
going  in  the  direction  of  Old  Mission. 

"  No  wonder  they  suspect  us,"  commented  Leon- 
ard. "  We  are  unknown,  we  are  coming  from  that 
direction,  we  show  that  we  have  been  tramping 
through  the  mud,  and,  all  in  all,  we  are  tough-look- 
ing characters.  I'd  suspect  myself,  if  I  happened 
to  be  some  one  else,  especially  as  we  are  buying  sup- 
plies. The  natural  inference  is  that  the  gang  has 
its  headquarters  on  the  peninsula." 

Ackerman  said  nothing.  He  was  beginning  to 
feel  the  thrill  of  anticipated  conflict,  and  the  strong, 


152  Delightful  Dodd 

resourceful,  undefeated  man  is  always  in  high  spirits 
when  an  unsolicited  chance  to  show  his  prowess 
seems  to  be  coming  his  way.  In  truth,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  Ackerman  was  so  far  unloyal  to 
Leonard  as  to  endeavour,  in  various  indirect  ways, 
to  strengthen  the  suspicions  already  created.  It 
seemed  to  him  a  good  joke.  Consequently,  he  said 
things  and  did  things  that,  innocent  in  themselves, 
might  not  be  so  interpreted.  That  there  might  be 
any  serious  menace  to  himself  in  this  never  for  a 
moment  occurred  to  him. 

Their  purchases  being  made,  there  was  some  time 
to  wait  before  the  boat  started  back,  and  Ackerman 
discovered  that  he  had  a  thirst.  Leonard  confessed 
that  he  could  think  of  no  better  way  to  pass  the 
time,  in  view  of  the  circumstances,  than  over  a  bottle 
of  beer  —  or  something  stronger,  if  desired.  While 
temperate,  Leonard  was  decidedly  not  a  prohibition- 
ist, and  he  led  the  way  to  a  place  that  advertised 
liquid  refreshments.  It  being  a  matter  of  thirst 
and  time  to  spare  rather  than  need  of  artificial  ex- 
hilaration, they  established  themselves  comfortably 
at  a  small  table,  with  a  bottle  of  beer,  and  presently 
were  laughing  over  their  experience  as  suspected 
criminals.  They  had  not  failed  to  note  that  the 
barkeeper  had  put  the  bung-starter  within  easy 
reach  when  they  entered  the  place. 


The  Prowess  of  Ackerman        153 

It  was  so  near  the  time  for  their  departure  that 
even  Leonard  had  ceased  to  be  anxious,  and  neither 
of  them  paid  much  attention  to  the  five  men  who 
entered  and  went  direct  to  the  bar.  It  never  oc- 
curred to  them  that  these  men  were  after  the  re- 
ward that  had  been  offered  for  the  arrest  of  the 
desperadoes.  They  knew  that  they  were  suspected 
in  a  general  sort  of  way,  but  they  did  not  know 
that  one  of  the  men  who  had  caught  a  fleeting 
glimpse  of  the  robbers  asserted  that  they  closely 
resembled  the  mud-covered  strangers.  It  does  not 
take  much  to  identify  men  in  a  time  of  excitement. 

The  new  arrivals  ordered  drinks  and  chatted  with 
the  barkeeper.  Incidentally,  they  moved  restlessly 
about  and  drew  nearer  to  the  table  at  which  Leon- 
ard and  Ackerman  sat.  Leonard  was  the  larger, 
and  looked  to  be  the  stronger,  of  the  two,  so  the 
plans  of  tbe  would-be  captors  were  laid  accordingly. 
At  a  signal,  three  of  them  sprang  on  him,  upset 
him  and  his  chair,  and  piled  on  top  of  him.  At 
the  same  moment,  the  other  two  sprang  for  Ack- 
erman, but  they  missed  connections.  Ackerman  was 
as  quick  as  he  was  strong.  The  big,  strong  man 
is  usually  clumsy,  the  little,  strong  man  active,  and 
Ackerman  was,  if  anything,  a  little  below  medium 
height.  Furthermore,  he  happened  to  glance  up 
as  the  signal  was  given.  He  might  be  mentally 


154  Delightful  Dodd 

slow  in  some  ways,  but  he  knew  instinctively  and 
by  experience  what  to  do  in  a  row.  He  was  on 
his  feet,  tipping  his  chair  over  backwards,  before 
either  of  the  men  could  reach  him;  he  lunged  for- 
ward, escaping  the  charge  of  one  man,  caught  the 
other  about  the  waist  and  hurled  him  half-way 
across  the  room.  Turning  instantly,  he  ducked 
under  the  arms  of  the  first,  and  when  he  straight- 
ened up  the  man  came  up  with  him,  crying  out 
in  pain  as  he  felt  himself  crushed  in  a  fierce  em- 
brace. Just  how  he  accomplished  his  next  feat, 
no  one  ever  was  able  to  explain,  least  of  all  the 
victim,  but  Ackerman  said  he  had  done  the  thing 
many  times  in  sport.  He  turned  the  man  over 
and  brought  him  head  down  on  the  floor. 

"  Back  up !  "  he  cried,  as  a  sort  of  general  warn- 
ing. "If  a  man  moves,  I'll  break  this  feller's 
neck!" 

The  action  had  been  so  bewildering,  so  startling, 
so  spectacular,  that  it  caught  and  held  the  attention 
of  every  one.  Leonard  was  powerless  beneath  the 
three,  and  the  three,  still  holding  him,  could  only 
stare  in  amazement  at  the  spectacle  of  a  man,  head 
down,  about  to  be  used  as  a  sort  of  pile-driver. 
There  could  be  no  possible  doubt  of  Ackerman's 
ability  to  break  the  fellow's  neck  at  any  moment. 
In  fact,  Ackerman  bumped  his  head  a  little,  just  to 


'"IF    A    MAN    MOVES,    I'LL   BREAK    THIS    FELLER'S    NECK  !  ' 


The  Prowess  of  Ackerman        155 

convince  him  of  the  inadvisability  of  trying  to  grasp 
his  legs  and  thus  trip  him  up.  The  fifth  man  lay 
where  he  had  been  thrown,  and  the  barkeeper,  com- 
ing with  the  bung-starter,  stopped  short.  Acker- 
man, holding  his  man  upside  down  by  the  legs,  was 
master  of  the  situation. 

"  Hands  up,  or  there's  a  dead  man  here!  "  cried 
Ackerman. 

"  For  God's  sake,  let  me  up ! "  whined  his  vic- 
tim, as  Ackerman  bumped  him  a  little  to  emphasize 
his  demands. 

"  Hands  up,  quick !  "  shouted  Ackerman. 

The  barkeeper's  hands  went  up;  the  three  on  top 
of  Leonard  rolled  off  and,  sitting  on  the  floor,  shot 
their  hands  into  the  air;  the  one  who  had  been 
thrown  lay  on  his  back  with  his  hands  raised.  It 
was  so  ludicrous  a  scene  that  Leonard  often  laughed 
at  it  afterward,  but  he  was  not  disposed  to  laugh 
at  the  time. 

"  Search  'em !  "  ordered  Ackerman. 

Leonard  confiscated  two  revolvers,  a  billy,  and  the 
bung-starter.  Then  Ackerman  let  go  of  his  vic- 
tim's feet,  and  the  fellow  flopped  over  on  the  floor. 

"  Say!  wasn't  that  great!  "  exclaimed  Ackerman, 
a  happy,  satisfied  grin  on  his  face.  "  I  ain't  had 
so  much  fun  since  sister  had  the  mumps.  What'll 
we  do  with  'em  ?  " 


156  Delightful  Dodd 

Leonard  was  leaning  against  the  wall  with  a 
revolver  in  each  hand,  fearful  that  some  one  would 
enter  to  complicate  matters  before  they  could  get 
the  affair  straightened  out.  Fortunately,  however, 
it  was  a  dull  hour  in  the  saloon  business. 

"  We've  got  to  settle  this  thing  now,"  he  said. 

"  Don't  shoot !  "  wailed  one  of  the  men.  "  We 
won't  try  to  foller  you." 

"  Shoot !  "  exclaimed  Leonard.  "  Who  wants  to 
shoot !  All  I  want  is  to  get  out  of  it  without  shoot- 
ing. Keep  your  hands  up !  "  he  cautioned.  Then 
he  went  on :  "I  suppose  you  think  we're  the  fel- 
lows who  blew  open  the  hotel  safe." 

"  Well,  yes,"  was  the  hesitating  admission. 

"  Well,  we're  not.  We're  employees  of  Daniel 
Dodd,  over  on  the  peninsula.  Do  you  believe  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  quickly,  from  all  of  them. 

"  Because  if  you  don't,"  put  in  Ackerman,  "  why, 
we'll  —  " 

"  We  do,"  they  cried. 

Then  Leonard,  still  troubled,  had  an  inspiration. 

"  Get  the  letters  out  of  my  pocket,"  he  instructed 
Ackerman.  "  I'd  rather  not  put  these  guns  down 
just  yet."  Ackerman  pulled  out  half  a  dozen  letters. 
"  Show  them  to  them,"  Leonard  continued. 
"  They're  all  addressed  to  me  at  Dodd's." 

"  I  got  one  myself,"  said  Ackerman. 


The  Prowess  of  Ackerman        157 

Ackerman,  seeming  to  enjoy  the  situation,  went 
from  one  to  the  other  and  showed  them  each  en- 
velope in  turn. 

"  If  that  isn't  enough,"  persisted  Leonard,  "  you 
may  send  a  committee  back  to  the  Mission  with 
us,  —  as  big  a  committee  as  you  want,  only  there 
must  be  no  funny  business." 

"  We're  satisfied,"  asserted  the  man  who  had  been 
stood  on  his  head. 

"  Have  a  drink  on  the  house,"  urged  the  bar- 
keeper. 

"  All  right,"  returned  Leonard,  "  but  you've  got 
to  send  somebody  to  the  boat  with  us,  to  tell  people 
we're  all  right.  We  don't  want  anybody  else  trying 
to  arrest  us." 

"  We'll  all  go,"  they  declared. 

"  Still,  as  a  precaution,"  said  Leonard,  "  I'll  just 
keep  the  revolvers  until  we're  aboard." 

They  lined  up  to  the  bar  and  drank  boisterously 
to  each  other's  health,  the  reaction  from  the  tension 
of  the  last  few  minutes  finding  vent  in  noisy  demon- 
stration. Ackerman  alone  did  not  seem  to  feel  this 
sense  of  relief.  He  was  merely  exuberantly  happy, 
as  a  boy  might  be  after  emerging  from  some  col- 
lege sport  in  which  he  had  been  victorious. 

"  We  ain't  so  bad  in  a  scrimmage  —  when  we 
get  waked  up,"  he  laughed. 


158  Delightful  Dodd 

"  You're  not,"  one  of  the  others  admitted. 
"  You're  a  wonder." 

"Me!"  exclaimed  Ackerman.  "Oh,  I'm  fair, 
but  you  ought  to  see  this  man,"  indicating  Leonard, 
"  when  he  gets  started.  He's  the  only  feller  that 
can  handle  me,  an'  the  only  man  I  duck  to.  But 
nobody  can't  do  anything  when  three  big  men  pile 
on  to  him  from  behind  before  he  knows  what's 
coming." 

Leonard  started  to  expostulate,  but  Ackerman 
winked  at  him  and  he  held  his  tongue.  When  they 
were  alone,  their  late  antagonists  having  left  them 
with  every  token  of  distinguished  consideration  and 
respectful  admiration,  Ackerman  said :  "  Might  as 
well  have  the  reputation  for  bein'  a  devil  in  a  fight." 

"  But  I'm  for  peace,"  urged  Leonard. 

"  Sure,"  returned  Ackerman.  "  An'  the  easiest 
way  to  have  peace  is  to  get  the  reputation  of  bein' 
able  to  lick  the  tar  out  of  everybody.  Things  has 
been  so  peaceful  for  me  sometimes  that  I've  had 
to  move." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

DODD   DISCUSSES    WOMAN 

THE  news  of  the  exploit  at  Elk  Rapids  spread 
rapidly.  From  the  lighthouse  to  Neahtawanta  peo- 
ple were  talking-  of  the  wonderful  prowess  of  Leon- 
ard and  Ackerman,  and  Leonard  ranked  first  in  all 
discussions.  What  Ackerman  could  do  had  been 
demonstrated,  and  Ackerman  had  confessed  that 
Leonard  could  handle  him.  Therefore,  Leonard 
must  be  just  about  the  greatest  man  that  ever  lived. 
When  he  went  to  Old  Mission,  people  turned  to 
look  after  him  on  the  street;  if  he  met  a  farmer 
on  a  country  road,  the  man  bowed  to  him  deferen- 
tially and  admiringly,  as  he  would  to  some  hero. 
There  was  no  one  who  was  not  proud  to  claim  his 
acquaintance. 

While  this  was  amusing,  it  was  also  annoying. 
Leonard  had  no  wish  to  sail  under  false  colours, 
but  Ackerman  considered  it  a  good  joke,  and  so 
did  Dodd  and  all  the  men  at  the  farm.  In  fact, 
Ackerman  lost  no  chance  to  strengthen  this  idea, 

159 


160  Delightful   Dodd 

detailing  imaginary  exploits  whenever  opportunity 
offered. 

"  I  wish,"  complained  Leonard,  "  that  I  could 
stop  this  thing.  Of  course,  here  on  the  farm  we 
all  see  the  absurdity  of  it,  but  they  don't  elsewhere, 
and  some  day  I'll  be  called  on  to  live  up  to  my  repu- 
tation." 

"  Not  any,"  retorted  Ackerman.  "  Nobody's  goin' 
to  try  to  make  you  live  up  to  the  reputation  you  got 
now,  'cause  they're  all  afraid.  They  want  to  keep 
you  nice  an'  peaceful." 

Even  Dodd  chuckled  over  the  affair,  and  assured 
Leonard  that  there  was  no  man  on  the  peninsula 
who  would  not  cheerfully  agree  with  him  on  any 
subject  upon  which  he  appeared  to  have  decided 
opinions. 

"  You're  a  good  deal  like  a  good-natured  mas- 
tiff," explained  Dodd.  "  Everybody's  proud  to 
know  you  and  to  pat  you  on  the  head  while  you  con- 
tinue good-natured,  but  they're  more  than  half 
afraid  something  may  annoy  you,  and  you'll  growl. 
They  want  to  humour  you  all  the  time." 

Miss  Marsden  alone  seemed  to  take  a  different 
view  of  the  matter,  although  she  said  nothing.  She 
treated  him  with  studied  politeness,  but  it  was  very 
evident  that  his  course  did  not  meet  her  approval. 
She  never  joined  in  the  jocular  comment  the  affair 


Dodd   Discusses  Woman  161 

provoked,  either  in  his  presence  or  his  absence.  She 
never  referred  to  it  in  any  way,  until  she  was  di- 
rectly addressed  on  one  occasion.  Then  Dodd  was 
given  a  gentle  shock  that,  if  he  had  been  observing, 
he  might  have  avoided. 

"  The  reflected  glory  of  our  Hercules,"  he  re- 
marked, "  is  making  me  feel  pretty  big  myself." 

"  Our  real  Hercules,"  she  returned,  quietly,  appar- 
ently deeply  interested  in  the  crochet-needles  she 
was  using,  "  modestly  passes  the  glory  on  to  some 
one  else.  Heroes  are  proverbially  modest." 

Dodd  looked  dreamily  into  space. 

"  It's  a  good  joke,"  he  ventured  at  last. 

"  But  don't  you  rather  like  the  man  who  stands 
solely  on  his  own  merits  ?  "  she  asked.  "  It  must 
be  so  much  more  satisfactory  to  be  made  great  by 
one's  own  acts." 

Again  Dodd  looked  dreamily  into  space. 

"  I  think  it  will  rain,"  he  said. 

"  When  ?  "    she  asked,  looking  up,  quickly. 

"  I  am  not  much  of  a  prophet,"  replied  Dodd, 
"  but  I  think  it  will  rain  before  it  snows." 

Dodd  was  wise  enough  to  understand,  and  he 
was  also  wise  enough  to  attempt  no  explanation  or 
defence.  There  are  occasions  when  silence  is  better 
than  the  presentation  of  even  the  most  convincing 
case.  Under  cover  of  Miss  Marsden's  amusement 


1 62  Delightful  Dodd 

at  his  weather  prediction,  Dodd  retired  gracefully. 
But  he  was  not  to  escape  this  entanglement  so  eas- 
ily, for,  as  he  and  Leonard  smoked  after  dinner, 
before  returning  to  work,  Leonard  asked  him  a 
very  simple  but  disquieting  question. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  said,  "  have  I  shown  myself  a 
silly,  pretentious  fool,  or  a  man?" 

"  Very  much  of  a  man,"  replied  Dodd. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Leonard,  simply.  "  I  have 
learned  to  value  your  opinion  highly,  and  I  did  not 
think  I  could  be  so  far  wrong  as  —  another  seems 
to  think.  If  you  are  right,  then  she  —  " 

"  Yes  ?  "    said  Dodd,  quietly. 

"  —  is  as  insincere  and  worldly  as  any  of  the 
frivolous  girls  I  have  known." 

Dodd  looked  dreamily  into  space,  even  as  he  had 
done  before. 

"  Perhaps  you  do  her  an  injustice,"  he  suggested, 
in  his  gentle  way. 

"  Well,  it's  of  no  moment,"  returned  Leonard, 
forcing  himself  to  speak  lightly.  "  She  may  not 
think  so  much  of  a  farm-hand  as  she  does  of  a  man 
of  leisure,  but  my  plans  were  made  for  myself." 

Again  Dodd  deemed  it  wise  to  sheer  off,  at  least 
slightly,  by  turning  the  conversation  to  woman  in 
general,  which  is  always  an  allowable  and  interest- 
ing topic. 


Dodd  Discusses  Woman  163 

"  Woman,"  he  said,  "  is  a  strange  and  puzzling 
creature,  who  is  always  giving  new  perplexities  to 
man.  Woman  makes  you  think  she  thinks  what 
she  doesn't  think,  so  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  think 
she  doesn't  think  what  she  seems  to  think.  Do  I 
make  myself  clear?" 

"  Perfectly,"  answered  Leonard,  forced  to  smile 
at  this  tangle  of  "thinks." 

"  She's  quite  honest  about  it  in  most  cases," 
Dodd  went  on.  "  She  really  doesn't  know  that 
she  doesn't  think  what  she  thinks  she  thinks,  so 
she  makes  herself  unhappy  without  cause,  and  gives 
all  sorts  of  wrong  impressions,  and —  Do  I  make 
myself  clear?  " 

"As  clear  as  a  thunder-cloud  on  a  dark  night," 
replied  Leonard. 

"That's  all  right,  then,"  asserted  Dodd.  "All 
you've  got  to  do  is  to  keep  your  eye  on  the  place 
where  you  think  that  thunder-cloud  is,  and  in  the 
morning  you'll  be  surprised  to  find  there's  nothing 
but  sunlight  there." 

Thus  Dodd  cleverly  laid  the  foundation  for  much 
of  comfort  that  had  its  effect  later,  although,  at 
the  moment,  Leonard  failed  to  untangle  the  remarks, 
and  was  merely  amused. 

"  Does  a  reasonable,  or  even  an  intimate,  knowl- 


1 64  Delightful  Dodd 

edge  of  one  woman  qualify  you  to  speak  thus  au- 
thoritatively of  the  sex?"  asked  the  young  man. 

Dodd  leaned  toward  him  and  spoke  confidentially. 

"  Woman,"  he  said,  "  is  so  inconsistent,  contra- 
dictory, and  many-sided  that  a  careful  and  pro- 
tracted study  of  one  wife  is  as  good  as  being  a 
Mormon.  The  Sultan  of  Turkey  hasn't  discovered 
any  more  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  sex  than  I 
have." 

Dodd  looked  about  him  furtively  and  became  even 
more  confidential. 

"  If  you  don't  think  I'm  right,"  he  whispered, 
"  come  with  me  and  I'll  show  you  a  little  feminine 
idiosyncrasy  that  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  never  saw. 
It's  just  about  time." 

Taking  the  surprised  and  amused  Leonard  by 
the  arm,  he  cautiously  led  the  way  to  the  wood- 
shed. There,  concealed  by  a  pile  of  wood,  he  cer- 
tainly did  point  out  a  most  extraordinary  sight. 

Mrs.  Dodd  was  seated  on  the  kitchen  steps,  with 
a  bottle  of  medicine  on  one  side  of  her  and  a  basket 
on  the  other.  She  held  a  medicine  dropper,  which 
she  was  carefully  filling  from  the  bottle. 

"  Come,  Hannah !  "  she  called  at  last,  whereupon 
the  cook  appeared.  "  Hold  her  tight  this  time, 
Hannah,"  Mrs.  Dodd  went  on.  "  She  doesn't  like 


Dodd  Discusses  Woman  165 

it,  but  it's  good  for  her.    She's  getting  better  right 

along." 

•   Hannah  reached  into  the  basket  and  took  out  a 

cat.     The  cat  struggled. 

"  Hold  her  tight,"  Mrs.  Dodd  cautioned  again. 
"  The  last  time  I  know  she  didn't  get  the  full  dose." 

Hannah  held  the  struggling  cat  in  her  lap,  and 
Mrs.  Dodd  steadied  the  cat's  head  with  one  hand, 
while  she  dropped  the  medicine  into  its  mouth  as 
opportunity  offered,  meanwhile  soothing  the  dis- 
gusted feline  with  soft  words. 

"  There !  "  she  said  at  last.  "  You  got  it  all  that 
time,  and  you'll  be  all  right  in  another  day." 

She  took  the  sputtering  cat  from  Hannah  and 
gently  replaced  it  in  the  basket. 

"  The  show  is  over,"  announced  Dodd,  suddenly 
appearing  from  behind  the  wood-pile.  His  wife 
laughed  in  a  constrained  way.  "  Mrs.  Dodd's  weak- 
ness," he  went  on,  "  is  a  desire  to  relieve  suffering 
and  help  the  helpless.  Any  dumb  creature  in  trouble 
appeals  to  her  sympathies,  and  she  has  more  original 
ways  of  aiding  them  than  twenty  men  could  think 
of  in  a  year  of  Sundays.  When  she  doesn't  know 
what  to  do,  she  experiments.  I  don't  think  she  ever 
has  prescribed  for  the  horses  or  the  cows,  but  pretty 
nearly  every  other  living  thing  has  received  her 


1 66  Delightful  Dodd 

ministrations.  I've  known  her  to  nurse  a  wounded 
bird  for  weeks." 

"  But  the  poor  thing  would  have  died  if  I  hadn't 
taken  charge  of  it,"  urged  Mrs.  Dodd. 

"  And  as  for  chickens  —  " 

"  Now,  Dan'l ! "  interrupted  Mrs.  Dodd,  redden- 
ing. 

"  As  for  chickens,"  repeated  Dodd,  maliciously, 
"  I  could  tell  you  of  a  time  when  she  ground  up  a 
liver  pill  and  mixed  it  with  the  chicken  food,  after 
diagnosing  the  trouble  of  one  of  the  hens." 

"Dan'l!"  she  cautioned. 

"  Well,  you  did,  didn't  you  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  she  retorted,  defiantly.  "  And  the 
chicken  got  well,  didn't  it  ?  " 

"  It  did,"  he  admitted. 

"  Well,  then !  "  she  exclaimed,  triumphantly. 

"  My  dear,"  he  said,  contritely,  "  you  entirely 
misinterpret  the  purpose  of  my  remarks.  I  am  not 
trying  to  make  fun  of  you;  I  am  merely  calling 
attention  to  the  transcendent  genius  that  could  dis- 
cover that  a  liver  pill  would  do  a  chicken  good.  I 
don't  think  anything  like  it  ever  before  has  been 
known  in  the  history  of  the  world." 

"  But  it  cured  the  chicken,"  she  insisted. 

"  It  did,"  he  conceded,  "  and  ever  since  you  have 
discovered  the  interchangeableness  of  foods  and 


Dodd  Discusses  Woman  167 

remedies,  I've  been  half-expecting  that  some  day 
you'd  try  dog  biscuit  on  me  as  a  cure  for  indiges- 
tion." 

"  Come  into  the  house,"  laughed  /Mrs.  Dodd, 
"  and  I'll  give  you  a  commission  that  will  turn 
your  mind  into  other  channels." 

He  meekly  followed  her  into  the  house,  while 
Leonard  went  back  to  his  work,  inwardly  laughing 
at  the  idea  of  feeding  chickens  ground-up  liver  pills, 
and  dosing  a  cat  with  a  medicine  dropper. 

"  Dan'l,"  said  Mrs.  Dodd,  when  she  had  told 
him  of  the  things  she  wished  done,  "  it's  becoming 
very  awkward." 

"  What  is  ?  "  he  asked,  innocently. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Leonard  and  Miss  Marsden,"  she 
explained. 

"  Oh,  they  are  '  it,'  "  he  remarked. 

"  You  know  what  I  mean,"  she  said.  "  They  are 
so  frigidly  civil  to  each  other  that  it's  worse  than 
a  row.  There's  something  between  them." 

"  Emma,"  returned  Dodd,  with  exaggerated  im- 
pressiveness,  "  you  are  right.  There  is  something 
between  them." 

"Do  you  know  what  it  is?"  she  asked. 

"  I  do,"  he  replied. 

"  Is  it  serious  ?  " 

"  The  most  serious  thing  in  the  world,"  he  said. 


1 68  Delightful  Dodd 

She  waited,  but  he  volunteered  no  information. 

"  Is  it  a  secret  ?  "  she  asked. 

"A  most  remarkable  secret,"  he  answered;  "  so 
remarkable  that  I  am  the  only  one  that  knows  it." 

"  They  have  confided  in  you?  " 

"  They  couldn't,  because  they  don't  know  it  them- 
selves. It  is  my  exclusive  secret." 

"  Are  you  crazy,  Dan'l !  "  she  demanded.  "  What 
are  you  talking  about  ?  " 

"  The  thing  that  has  come  between  them,"  he 
said,  with  amusing  impressiveness,  "  is  1-o-v-e.  Let 
them  alone  and  they'll  find  it  out  for  themselves. 
They  told  me  without  knowing  it.  And  you 
women,"  he  added,  patronizingly,  "  who  pride  your- 
selves on  reading  such  riddles,  let  an  old  man  — 
and  a  farmer  at  that  —  find  this  out  first." 

"  Go  on  out  and  see  to  your  berries !  "  ordered 
Mrs.  Dodd.  "  You're  getting  more  unbearable 
every  day." 

But  an  affectionate  smile  followed  him  as  he 
retreated. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

A   FAVOUR   FOR   A    NEIGHBOUR 

DODD  was  at  his  customary  work  in  the  vege- 
table garden.  He  had  not  the  strength  for  heavy 
work  in  the  fields,  and,  although  he  assisted  in 
gathering  and  packing  the  fruit,  his  close  personal 
attention  was  largely  given  to  raising  the  vegetables 
that  were  among  the  luxuries  of  life  on  the  Dodd 
farm.  These  were  not  for  market,  but  for  home 
consumption. 

Dodd  exercised  a  general  supervision  over  the 
farm  work,  but  the  head  farmer  was  in  active 
charge,  so  the  old  man  had  ample  time  for  the 
no  less  necessary  work  nearer  the  house.  Now  he 
leaned  on  his  hoe  and  listened.  Mrs.  Dodd  was 
calling. 

"  Halloo!  "  he  answered.     "  What  is  it?  " 

"  Some  one  to  see  you ! "  answered  Mrs.  Dodd 
through  a  small  megaphone  kept  for  just  this  pur- 
pose. 

"  Man  or  woman  ?  "  asked  Dodd. 
169 


170  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Man." 

"Can  he  walk?" 

"  Yes." 

"Well,  here  I  am." 

Dodd  was  so  obliging  that  he  would  walk  half 
a  mile  to  meet  a  man  who  wanted  to  ask  a  favour 
of  him,  and  only  that  morning  Mrs.  Dodd  had  sug- 
gested that  he  ought  to  be  a  little  more  careful  of 
his  own  time  and  strength.  This  was  his  method 
of  letting  her  know  that  he  had  taken  the  lesson 
to  heart,  —  at  least  temporarily.  He  would  forget 
all  about  it  in  another  day,  and  walk  a  mile  for 
the  privilege  of  loaning  some  one  a  rake.  How- 
ever, in  this  case  the  man  came  to  him.  He  proved 
to  be  Erastus  Dutton,  who  lived  some  miles  away. 

Dutton  nodded  to  Dodd  and  remarked  that  it  was 
a  nice  day.  Dodd  examined  the  heavens  critically 
and  admitted  that  Dutton  was  right.  Then  Dutton 
chewed  a  straw,  while  Dodd  leaned  meditatively 
on  his  hoe.  Dodd  was  wondering  whether  Dutton 
had  come  to  borrow  his  churn  or  a  wagon.  The 
last  time  he  had  appeared  he  had  asked  if  Dodd 
remembered  the  tonic  Mrs.  Dodd  had  recommended 
for  his  wife,  and,  learning  that  Dodd's  memory  was 
treacherous,  he  had  recalled  the  circumstances  and 
dilated  on  the  wonderful  properties  of  that  remedy. 

"  I'll  never  forget  it,"  he  had  said,  in  conclusion. 


A  Favour  for  a  Neighbour        171 

"  Mrs.  Button  took  every  drop  of  it,"  as  if  that 
entitled  her  to  the  gratitude  of  the  Dodds,  "  and 
now  could  you  loan  me  your  plough  ?  " 

Such  were  the  details  of  the  previous  call,  and 
Button's  hesitation  now  seemed  to  indicate  a  desire 
for  an  even  greater  favour.  So  Bodd  leaned  on 
his  hoe,  and  inwardly  hoped  that  the  man  didn't 
want  any  of  the  things  over  which  Mrs.  Bodd  had 
supervision,  for  Mrs.  Bodd  had  become  weary  of 
loaning,  and  Bodd  knew  he  would  have  some 
trouble  in  arranging  matters.  Button,  however, 
branched  off  into  the  question  of  crops,  and  for 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  they  speculated  on  the  amount 
of  fruit  that  would  go  to  market  from  Peninsula 
County. 

"  I  got  to  raise  some  money  to  git  my  apples  to 
market  at  all,"  Button  remarked,  finally.  "  Bon't 
know  anybody  that's  got  any  to  lend,  do  ye?  " 

"  They've  got  plenty  of  schoolma'ams'  money  at 
the  bank,"  replied  Bodd. 

Button  looked  bewildered. 

"  Whose  money  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Schoolma'ams',"  answered  Bodd.  "  Bidn't  you 
ever  stop  to  think  who  the  real  capitalists  of  the 
country  are  ?  " 

"  Rockyfeller,  Morgan  —  " 

"  The  schoolma'ams,"  interrupted  Bodd.     "  The 


172  Delightful  Dodd 

schoolma'ams  are  the  great  money-savers,  consid- 
ering them  generally.  No  one  of  them  may  have 
much,  but  collectively  they  have  a  lot,  and  it's  their 
money  that  the  big  financiers  use  in  their  deals. 
Others,  with  more  money  individually,  are  using 
it  for  their  own  purposes,  and  it's  the  school-teach- 
ers' money  that  the  banks  have  to  loan.  The  school- 
ma'ams  move  the  crops  in  the  fall,  and,  unknow- 
ingly, they  furnish  the  cash  for  other  great  and 
necessary  movements  in  the  business  and  financial 
worlds.  When  you  hear  about  the  banks  furnishing 
the  money  to  move  the  crops,  just  you  sit  down 
and  laugh,  for  the  schoolma'ams  are  doing  it.  The 
thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  get  some  of  their  money." 

Dutton  shook  his  head. 

"  There's  not  less  than  a  thousand  dollars  in  my 
apples,  Dodd,"  he  said,  "  but  I  couldn't  sell  'em 
on  the  trees,  an'  that  makes  it  look  bad  to  people 
with  money.  I  borrowed  a  little  on  the  crop  earlier 
too,  an'  I've  got  to  pay  that  loan,  if  I  make  another, 
or  the  man  will  come  down  on  me.  Ye  see,  I  got 
behind  last  year." 

"  How  much  have  you  got  to  have?  "  asked  Dodd. 

"  Three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  to  pay  the 
other  loan  and  get  the  apples  to  market.  You  can 
fix  it  for  me  at  Traverse,  Dodd,  if  you  will." 

Dodd  looked  troubled.    As  a  banker,  he  had  been 


A  Favour  for  a  Neighbour        173 

able  to  be  impersonal  and  cautious,  but  his  ready 
sympathy  and  generous  heart  had  got  him  into 
trouble  occasionally  in  his  personal  affairs,  and  he 
had  declared  that  he  would  turn  and  run  at  the 
next  financial  suggestion  from  a  friend  or  neigh- 
bour. In  brief,  he  had  proved  himself  a  better 
guardian  of  other  people's  money  than  of  his  own. 

"If  the  crop  holds  as  good  as  it  looks  now,  I 
only  got  to  deliver  'em  in  Chicago  to  git  a  thousand 
dollars  for  'em,"  Button  persisted.  "  A  Chicago 
commission  man  will  take  'em  all  at  the  market 
price,  delivered,  if  they  grade  right." 

"  But  he  wouldn't  buy  them  on  the  trees,"  mused 
Dodd,  doubtfully. 

"  I'll  show  you  the  letter  from  the  commission 
man,"  said  Button. 

Bodd  read  the  letter,  but  made  no  comment. 
The  letter  and  Button's  report  of  his  crop,  which 
Bodd  knew  to  be  approximately  correct,  seemed  to 
make  the  loan  a  safe  one.  But  a  storm  might  wreck 
everything.  That  possibility  made  bankers  cau- 
tious. 

"  I  got  to  raise  the  money,  Bodd,"  Button  added. 
"  There's  a  little  interest  on  a  mortgage  on  the 
farm  besides.  I  got  to  do  it  or  I'm  busted.  They'll 
listen  to  you  at  Traverse,  for  you  was  a  banker 
once." 


174  Delightful  Dodd 

Dodd  glanced  at  Dutton's  pathetically  anxious 
face,  put  the  hoe  over  his  shoulder,  and  started 
toward  the  house. 

"  We'll  try  it,"  he  said. 

They  are  astir  early  in  the  country,  and  there  was 
yet  time  to  catch  the  boat  at  Neahtawanta.  During 
the  drive  to  that  point,  Button  was  profuse  in  his 
thanks,  but  Dodd  spoke  little.  It  was  not  that  he 
begrudged  the  day  lost  from  work  on  the  farm, 
for  he  said  drily  that  he  was  always  looking  for 
a  good  excuse  to  miss  a  little  work;  it  was  not 
that  he  did  not  want  to  help  a  neighbour,  for  he 
cheerfully  put  himself  to  great  personal  inconveni- 
ence for  them.  But  he  knew  his  own  weakness, 
and  he  feared  he  might  do  something  of  which  Mrs. 
Dodd  would  not  approve. 

At  Traverse  City  they  hunted  up  a  banker  whom 
Dodd  knew,  and  stated  the  case  to  him. 

"  I  don't  see  how  we  can  do  it,"  he  said.  "  There 
ought  to  be  no  difficulty  in  selling  a  good  crop  on 
the  trees,  which  means  ready  money  and  no  ex- 
pense in  getting  the  apples  to  market." 

"  There  are  too  many  larger  orchards  to  be  had," 
explained  Button.  "  They  won't  touch  anything 
less  than  a  $1,500  crop  on  that  basis  this  year. 
And  my  trees  are  bearing  unevenly,  so  it  is  rather 


A  Favour  for  a  Neighbour        175 

hard  to  figure.  But  I  have  made  a  careful  personal 
estimate." 

"  There  are  several  possibilities  that  might  spoil 
all  calculations,"  argued  the  banker.  "  The  risk  is 
too  great.  We  can't  do  it.  I'd  like  to  oblige  Mr. 
Dodd,  but  my  first  duty  is  to  the  bank." 

Dodd  glanced  at  Button  and  saw  that  there  were 
tears  in  his  eyes.  Evidently  he  had  not  exaggerated 
his  predicament. 

"  I'm  very  sorry,"  the  banker  added. 

"  No  matter,"  said  Dodd,  carelessly.  "  We  can 
get  the  money  elsewhere." 

He  took  Button  by  the  arm  and  led  him  to  the 
Park  Place  Hotel.  The  man  had  been  so  confident 
that  Bodd  could  arrange  the  matter  that  the  disap- 
pointment left  him  on  the  verge  of  collapse.  He 
sank  into  a  chair  in  the  corner  of  the  reading-room 
and  buried  his  face  in  his  hands. 

"  Wait  here,"  said  Bodd,  gently.  "  I'll  see  what 
I  can  do." 

Then  Bodd  went  back  to  the  banker  alone. 

"  Bon't  you  think  I  was  right,  Mr.  Bodd  ?  "  asked 
the  banker.  "  You  have  had  experience  in  this 
business  yourself." 

"Why,  no,"  replied  Bodd,  frankly.  "I  think 
you  were  entirely  wlrong,  but  I  didn't  come  back  to 
argue  the  question  with  you.  It  is  your  privilege 


176  Delightful   Dodd 

to  do  business  your  own  way,  and  I  have  taken  out 
no  license  to  find  fault.  I  merely  came  in  to  tell 
you  that  the  north  end  of  my  farm  is  for  sale.  I 
understand  there  are  some  people  with  money  up 
here  this  summer,  and  somebody  may  want  a  sum- 
mer home.  If  so,  you'll  hear  about  it." 

"  I'll  do  the  best  I  can  for  you,"  said  the  banker. 
"  But  why  do  you  think  I  made  a  mistake  in  refus- 
ing the  loan?  " 

Thus  he  came  back  to  the  subject,  even  as  Dodd 
had  wished  and  planned. 

"  Why,  it  is  my  experience,"  replied  Dodd,  "  that 
there  are  two  kinds  of  finance,  —  high  finance  and 
straight  finance,  —  and  the  rules  that  should  be 
applied  to  them  differ  materially.  Too  many  small 
bankers  follow  the  rules  of  the  Wall  Street  bankers, 
who  are  dealing  largely  with  gamblers,  and  have 
to  be  unusually  careful.  If  a  man  came  to  me  to 
borrow  money  to  put  a  stock-jobbing  deal  through, 
I'd  be  damn  careful  and  damn  cold-blooded.  At 
best,  the  money  will  do  good  to  no  one  but  himself. 
At  worst,  you  are  not  the  only  banker  on  his  list. 
He  has  fifty  ways  of  raising  money.  But  the  farmer 
who  wants  to  move  his  crops  has  only  one.  He 
must  go  to  the  one  banker  he  knows,  and  refusal 
there  leaves  him  at  the  limit  of  his  resources.  He 
needs  the  money  for  himself,  but  it  is  also  to  help  in 


A  Favour  for  a  Neighbour        177 

a  movement  that  is  of  benefit  to  others."  He  leaned 
forward  and  became  emphatic.  "  As  a  banker,  I 
would  never  refuse  the  honest  man  who  wants  a 
small  loan,  for  he  is  the  man  who  is  going  to  put 
the  money  to  good  use.  I  would  give  it  to  him 
on  as  long  time  as  he  wants  for  this  reason :  when 
he  has  the  money,  he  will  pay,  even  if  it  is  ahead 
of  time,  and  you  will  get  double  use  of  the  money. 
If,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  he  decides  not  to  pay 
until  the  note  falls  due,  he  will  deposit  the  money 
in  your  bank,  and  here  again  you  have  double  use 
of  it,  —  once  on  his  loan  and  once  on  his  deposit 
That  is  something  you  never  get  from  the  man 
of  high  finance,  who  is  using  the  money  for  his 
own  purposes  every  minute  that  it  is  in  his  pos- 
session." 

"  There  is  truth  in  what  you  say,"  remarked  the 
banker,  thoughtfully.  "  The  small  borrower  fre- 
quently does  leave  the  money  in  our  bank  while 
waiting  for  his  note  to  be  due,  and  thus  we  may 
loan  it  again  and  get  double  interest.  But  that  is 
no  reason  for  making  loans  that  are  uncertain  of 
payment." 

"  And  there  is  another  thing,"  said  Dodd,  ignor- 
ing the  last  remark. 

"What  is  that?" 

"  When  you  turn  down  the  man  who  wants  a 


178  Delightful   Dodd 

small  loan  for  his  crops,  he  goes  away  with  the 
thought,  'Well,  it's  a  hell  of  a  bank  that  hasn't 
$350  to  spare ! '  and  his  friends  and  others  take  the 
same  view  of  it.  It  doesn't  help  a  bank  any." 

"  But  we  have  got  it  to  spare ! "  exclaimed  the 
banker,  hotly. 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,"  returned  Dodd,  carelessly, 
"  but  all  farmers  haven't  been  in  the  banking  busi- 
ness. They  can't  see  why  a  man  in  the  banking 
business  should  refuse  a  loan  of  $350  on  a  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  apples,  if  he  has  the  money,  and 
sometimes  it's  worth  while  to  stretch  a  point  to  con- 
vince them  that  you've  got  it  to  spare." 

There  was  enough  of  hard  sense  in  what  Dodd 
said  to  make  the  banker  do  a  little  hard  thinking. 
City  banks  and  country  banks  have  to  look  at  many 
things  from  different  points  of  view,  for  different 
interpretations  are  put  on  their  actions,  due  to  the 
difference  in  their  patrons.  And  that  comment  that 
Dodd  had  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  man  refused 
rankled.  It  was  just  the  comment  that  might  be 
expected  from  men  who  believed  that  no  more  than 
a  reasonable  request  had  been  made. 

"  If  you  believe  it's  a  safe  loan,  Dodd,  indorse 
the  note  and  I'll  let  him  have  the  money,"  said  the 
banker. 


A  Favour  for  a  Neighbour        179 

Dodd  looked  at  the  banker  and  smiled,  whim- 
sically. 

"  I'm  pretty  hard  up  myself,"  he  suggested. 

"  Even  so,"  laughed  the  banker,  as  he  saw  how 
he  had  put  Dodd  in  a  corner,  "  I'll  feel  a  little  safer 
if  I  have  two  honest  men  on  the  note,  for,  what- 
ever happens,  one  or  the  other  will  pay  it  in  time. 
Besides,  you  insist  that  it's  safe." 

"  I  said  it  was  a  good  investment  for  a  banker," 
replied  Dodd,  "  but  it's  no  investment  for  me.  I  get 
nothing  but  the  risk." 

"  Well,  if  you  won't  take  it  for  friendship,  I 
won't  take  it  for  business,"  returned  the  banker. 

Dodd  sighed. 

"  I  knew  I  was  a  fool  to  leave  the  farm  to-day," 
he  said.  Then  he  added :  "  Have  the  papers  ready, 
and  I'll  be  back  with  Dutton  in  about  fifteen  min- 
utes. I  know  he's  got  the  apples." 

It  was  no  doubt  of  Dutton  that  made  him  hesi- 
tate. There  was  a  risk,  of  course,  but  Dutton  was 
honest.  Indorsing  another's  note,  however,  is  un- 
wise, as  any  financier  will  tell  you.  The  indorser 
has  a  chance  to  lose  and  no  chance  to  win ;  the  best 
he  can  do  is  to  get  out  even.  Like  many  another, 
Dodd  had  long  before  determined  that  he  never 
would  put  his  name  on  another  man's  note,  but 
Dutton  was  in  such  deep  distress  that  — 


i8o  Delightful  Dodd 

"  Lord  help  me  if  Emma  hears  about  this ! " 
mused  Dodd.  "  She'll  take  me  into  court  and  have 
a  guardian  appointed." 

But  he  forgot  his  doubts  when  he  saw  the  way 
Button's  face  lighted  up  and  felt  the  clasp  of  his 
hand.  Even  if  it  came  to  the  worst,  it  was  worth 
$350  to  give  a  fellow  human  such  relief  and  joy, 
—  that  is,  it  was  worth  it,  if  a  man  had  the  $350. 
But  Dodd  had  it  not. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


THE    SHETLAND    PONY    FARM 

LEONARD  joined 
the  Dodd  circle  at 
the  evening  meal 
less  and  less  fre- 
quently, apparently 
preferring  to  be  with 
Ackerman  and  the 
others  at  the  men's 
quarters.  For  break- 
fast and  dinner  this 
was  a  necessity,  as 
he  would  hardly  join 
the  Dodds  in  his  working  clothes,  even  if  Dodd  him- 
self did  so.  Dodd's  work  was  of  a  nature  which  per- 
mitted him  to  keep  himself  somewhat  more  present- 
able than  was  possible  in  the  case  of  the  farm-hands, 
and,  besides,  he  was  a  privileged  character.  He 
came  in  a  little  ahead  of  the  others,  "  spruced  himself 
up  a  bit,"  as  he  expressed  it,  and  was  ready  to  join 

181 


l82  Delightful  Dodd 

the  guests.  But  Leonard  felt  that  he  had  to  make 
a  complete  change  of  clothing,  and  he  pleaded  this 
as  an  excuse  for  keeping  pretty  close  to  the  men's 
quarters,  although  he  might  easily  have  joined  the 
Dodd  circle  in  the  evening.  He  really  was  too  tired 
to  appear  many  evenings,  but  he  certainly  would 
have  been  seen  oftener  if  he  and  Miss  Marsden 
had  been  on  better  terms.  As  it  was,  they  con- 
tinued to  be  studiously  and  coldly  polite,  and  such 
association  is  worse  than  joyless.  Miss  Marsden 
believed  that  he  had  deliberately  accepted  the  laurels 
that  belonged  to  Ackerman,  and  this,  combined  with 
what  she  considered  his  childish  effort  to  "  play 
at  being  a  man,"  was  more  than  she  could  overlook. 
She  demanded  sincerity  and  purpose  in  a  man,  — 
real  purpose  and  not  the  mere  pretence  of  it.  That 
he  stuck  to  his  disagreeable  work  was  encouraging, 
but  she,  and  others,  still  considered  it  a  mere  whim, 
—  a  foolish  attempt  to  be  eccentric.  It  was  easy 
to  believe  that  pride  made  him  stick  to  it,  however 
much  he  might  regret  beginning.  And  he,  on  his 
part,  misunderstood  her  quite  as  much  as  she  mis- 
understood him,  for  he  had  convinced  himself  that 
it  was  the  lowly  nature  of  the  work  he  was  doing 
that  had  led  her  to  so  change  her  attitude  toward 
him. 

Dodd  watched  them  and  smiled  in  his  whimsical 


The  Shetland  Pony  Farm         183 

way.  Indeed,  it  amused  him  so  much  that  he 
could  not  refrain  from  telling  her  one  day  that  she 
would  give  a  million  dollars  to  know  what  he  knew. 

"  I  couldn't  pay  any  such  sum  for  the  informa- 
tion," she  returned,  laughing,  "  but,  if  it's  of  such 
great  value  to  me,  why  don't  you  tell  me,  anyway? 
I'll  promise  to  be  grateful." 

"Well,"  said  Dodd,  confidentially,  "I'll  tell 
you  —  " 

"  Yes." 

"  I'll  tell  you  why  I  don't  tell  you." 

"  I'm  beginning  to  think,  with  Mrs.  Dodd,  that 
you're  incorrigible,"  laughed  Miss  Marsden.  "  No 
one  ever  knows  what  you're  going  to  say  or  do. 
But,  anyway,  tell  me  why  you  won't  tell  me." 

"  Because,"  said  Dodd,  in  a  stage  whisper,  "  you 
wouldn't  believe  me,  if  I  did." 

Then,  pleased  with  his  little  joke,  he  tried  it  on 
Leonard. 

"  You  wouldn't  sleep  to-night,  if  you  knew  what 
I  know,"  he  said. 

"  Would  it  worry  me  as  much  as  that  ?  "  asked 
Leonard. 

"  It  wouldn't  worry  you  at  all,"  replied  Dodd. 

"What  is  it?" 

"  Why,  confidentially,"  answered  Dodd,  "  it's  —  " 

"Yes?" 


1 84  Delightful  Dodd 

"  It's  something  that  you've  got  to  find  out  for 
yourself;  but  you'll  find  it  out." 

And  no  more  would  Dodd  say,  although  his  quiet 
laughter  led  Leonard  to  think  it  was  all  a  joke. 
Then,  quickly  changing  the  subject,  he  announced 
that  he  had  a  little  job  for  Leonard  that  evening. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  Why,  I've  had  a  little  disagreement  with  a 
peninsula  curiosity  about  some  timber,  and  I'm  go- 
ing to  drive  over  to  see  him.  I  wish  you  would 
go  along,  hear  both  sides  of  the  case,  and  tell  me 
if  I  am  in  the  least  unfair.  He  says  I  am,  and  I 
don't  want  to  do  any  one  the  slightest  injustice, 
but  neither  do  I  want  any  one  to  ride  over  me.  If 
I  seem  to  be  demanding  a  penny  more  than  my 
rights,  just  you  kick  my  shins,  and  I'll  back  up. 
A  fellow  doesn't  always  see  straight  in  his  own 
case." 

"  Well,  you're  certainly  careful  to  be  fair,"  said 
Leonard. 

"  I  have  to  be  in  this  case,"  explained  Dodd. 
"  The  fellow  is  pretty  much  at  my  mercy,  and  has 
got  to  accept  my  terms  whenever  I  choose  to  insist. 
That's  why  I'm  so  anxious  not  to  be  unreasonable. 
If  we  were  on  even  terms,  I  could  bluster  and  bluff 
with  the  best  of  them." 

"  I   doubt  it,"  laughed  Leonard.     "  You're  too 


The  Shetland  Pony  Farm         185 

ready  to  consider  the  rights  of  the  other  fellow, 
to  the  exclusion  of  your  own.  But  what's  this  par- 
ticular trouble  about  ?  " 

"  You'll  find  out  when  we  get  there.  There's  no 
use  going  over  the  ground  twice.  It's  rough  enough 
ground  to  make  one  trip  over  it  all  that  you  want, 
especially  in  the  company  of  two  such  specimens 
as  Dake  Wakeley  and  yours  truly.  But  you'll  find 
he's  worth  going  miles  to  see,  and  it's  just  the  even- 
ing for  a  drive." 

Now,  it  is  possible  that  it  was  purely  an  accident, 
or  it  may  be  that  there  was  something  of  design  in 
it.  There  can  be  no  doubt  at  all  that  Dodd  had  a 
mischievous  streak  in  him,  and  was  not  above  plan- 
ning for  a  little  harmless  fun.  There  was  nothing 
of  malice  in  his  humour,  but  there  was  so  much  of 
humour  in  him  that  one  never  could  be  sure  just 
when  he  was  quietly  and  privately  enjoying  a  little 
joke  of  his  own.  In  this  instance,  Miss  Marsden 
and  Mrs.  Congrove  had  strolled  down  the  road  a 
short  time  before,  and  Dodd  now  announced  that, 
as  the  buggy  needed  cleaning,  he  would  take  the 
surrey.  As  before  stated,  it  may  have  been  a  coinci- 
dence, but  the  fact  remains  that  he  and  Leonard 
overtook  Miss  Marsden  and  Mrs.  Congrove  and  that 
they  had  ample  room  in  their  vehicle.  An  observ- 
ing man  might  have  noted,  also,  that  something 


1 86  Delightful   Dodd 

seemed  to  strangely  amuse  Dodd  previous  to  the 
discovery  of  the  two  ladies  in  the  road,  and  that 
he  was  not  in  the  least  surprised  to  see  them. 

"  Better  ride,"  he  suggested,  drawing  up,  while 
Leonard  bowed  formally  to  Miss  Marsden,  and  con- 
gratulated Mrs.  Congrove  on  her  increasing  strength. 

"  Oh,  we're  out  for  the  exercise,"  returned  Miss 
Marsden. 

"  It's  nearly  all  up-hill  going  back,"  urged  Dodd. 

Evidently  there  was  a  mischievous  streak  in  Mrs. 
Congrove  also,  for,  when  Dodd  solemnly  winked  at 
her,  she  laughed  most  inopportunely,  and  decided 
that  the  walk  back  might  be  rather  hard  for  her. 

"  We've  taken  this  stroll  before,"  said  Miss  Mars- 
den, in  surprise. 

"  But  I'm  rather  tired  to-night,  Jessie,"  insisted 
Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  And  you  really  ought  to  see  the  curiosity," 
added  Dodd. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  It's  a  he,"  replied  Dodd.  "  He  lives  all  alone 
in  a  deserted  cabin  in  a  clearing  on  the  north  end 
of  the  farm,  acts  as  his  own  cook  and  housekeeper, 
hoards  every  penny  he  gets,  and  begs  an  occasional 
loaf  of  bread  from  his  neighbours.  I  call  him  a 
curiosity  because  he  would  really  be  a  good-looking 
man  if  he  had  false  teeth,  a  shave,  a  hair-cut,  a 


The  Shetland  Pony  Farm         187 

bath,  and  a  glass  eye.  That's  about  all  he  needs, 
except  a  better  disposition." 

"  Oh,  we  must  see  him ! "  cried  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  And  I'll  tell  you  a  new  way  to  make  money 
as  we  drive  along,"  said  Dodd. 

"  I  shall  have  to  surrender  to  the  allurements  you 
hold  out,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  Miss  Marsden.  "  No 
one  can  withstand  you." 

Leonard  sprang  from  his  seat  to  help  the  ladies 
in,  and  then  Mrs.  Congrove  did  a  surprising  thing. 
She  insisted  upon  riding  on  the  front  seat  with 
Dodd. 

"  I  won't  surrender  that  privilege  to  any  one,"  she 
declared.  "  Mr.  Dodd  furnishes  just  the  kind  of 
entertainment  that  makes  me  determined  to  have 
a  front  seat." 

Mrs.  Congrove,  while  a  dependent  woman  in  all 
the  serious  affairs  of  life,  was  of  quick  perception, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  an  understanding,  suddenly 
reached,  between  her  and  Dodd.  Leonard  and  Miss 
Marsden  were  their  unconscious  victims,  —  "  be- 
cause they  are  so  foolish,"  as  Mrs.  Congrove  would 
have  expressed  it. 

Of  course,  neither  Miss  Marsden  nor  Leonard 
could  well  object,  so  he  assisted  her  to  the  seat  and 
then  followed  her.  Dodd  looked  on  with  solemn 
face,  but  Mrs.  Congrove  smiled  mischievously.  It 


1 88  Delightful  Dodd 

was,  indeed,  an  amusing  spectacle,  for  Miss  Marsden 
accepted  Leonard's  assistance  with  a  resigned  air, 
and  Leonard  seemed  fearful  of  meeting  a  rebuff. 
Once  on  the  seat  together,  both  tried  unsuccessfully 
to  appear  at  ease,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that 
Miss  Marsden  did  far  better  than  Leonard.  It  was 
one  thing  to  be  merely  formally  courteous  in  the 
casual  meetings  of  life  on  the  farm,  and  quite  an- 
other to  carry  out  the  same  idea  on  the  narrow  seat 
of  a  surrey,  bumping  over  a  rough  road.  They 
tried  to  speak  of  commonplace  things  in  a  common- 
place way,  but  it  all  sounded  flat  and  ridiculous. 

"  Do  you  feel  cold  ?  "  Dodd  whispered  to  Mrs. 
Congrove. 

She  looked  up  in  surprise,  only  to  catch  that  sol- 
emn wink  —  and  she  understood  and  laughed. 

"  I  suppose  it's  mean,"  she  said,  "  with  my  own 
sister." 

"  But  if  people  will  be  foolish,  what  are  we  to 
do  ?  "  asked  Dodd,  whimsically. 

"  No  whispering !  "  cautioned  Leonard,  trying  to 
speak  lightly. 

lt  I  was  telling  Mrs.  Congrove  about  my  Shetland 
pony  farm,"  returned  Dodd,  unblushingly. 

"  Your  Shetland  pony  farm !  "  cried  Miss  Mars- 
den, glad  of  this  opportunity  to  make  the  conver- 
sation general.  "  Where  is  it?  Tell  us  about  it!  " 


The  Shetland  Pony  Farm         189 

"  It's  here,"  explained  Dodd,  tapping  his  fore- 
head. "  People  say  that  I  have  wheels,  but  they  are 
mistaken.  What  they  consider  wheels  are  merely 
Shetland  ponies  galloping  about.  This  farm  is  one 
of  my  many  ways  of  making  money." 

"  In  theory,"  said  Leonard,  "  you  ought  to  be  a 
billionaire." 

"  In  theory,  yes,"  returned  Dodd,  rather  sadly. 
"  My  schemes  have  been  devised  since  I  have  been 
unable  to  put  them  into  execution;  before  that  I 
was  too  busy  making  money  in  the  ordinary  ways. 
And  people  with  money  stick  to  the  ordinary  ways, 
just  as  I  did,  so  it  is  useless  to  mention  anything 
new  to  them,  —  except  possibly  when  you  have  the 
prestige  of  great  success  behind  you." 

"  But  this  theoretical  farm,"  persisted  Leonard. 

"  Why,"  said  Dodd,  "  it's  just  this  way :  Shetland 
ponies  are  as  hardy  and  as  easy  to  raise  as  sheep. 
Now,  in  my  theoretical  farm,  up  here,"  tapping  his 
forehead  again,  "  I  have  been  careful  to  choose  a 
convenient  locality,  from  which  I  can  get  my  ponies 
to  market  easily.  I  have  also  arranged  to  play  a 
little  confidence  game  on  some  of  our  well-to-do 
people.  I  know  where  their  children  are  at  school, 
and  some  day,  just  about  the  noon  hour,  I  wander 
along  with  a  drove  of  Shetland  ponies.  The  boys 
are  after  me  in  a  minute.  I  talk  to  them  and  let 


190  Delightful  Dodd 

them  try  some  of  the  ponies.  They  are  for  sale 
at  a  reasonable  price,  and  pretty  soon  one  boy  an- 
nounces that  he's  sure  his  father  will  buy  one  for 
him.  Another  is  just  as  sure;  another  isn't  quite 
so  sure,  but  he's  going  to  make  the  old  man's  life 
miserable  if  he  doesn't.  Before  I  quit,  I  have  forty 
or  fifty  sales-agents  enlisted,  each  one  bound  to  sell 
a  pony  to  his  own  father,  and  you  bet  they'll  do  it, 
if  the  old  man  has  the  money  and  a  place  to  keep 
the  pony.  You  get  the  pony  fever  started  in  a  town, 
and  you  can  take  the  money  away  in  baskets.  All 
that's  necessary  is  to  show  up  at  the  right  kind  of 
schools,  —  schools  in  the  right  localities,  I  mean. 
Towns  would  be  better  than  cities,  for  there  is  too 
much  flat-life  in  the  cities,  and  consequently  too 
few  people  able  to  keep  a  pony,  even  when  well 
able  to  buy  one.  But,  with  a  little  judgment,  a  fel- 
low could  do  pretty  well  in  the  cities."  Dodd 
paused  and  looked  dreamily  over  the  fields.  "  I 
have  a  dozen  men  out  with  ponies  from  my  fanciful 
farm  now,"  he  announced  at  last.  "  They  have 
mastered  the  business  and  they  know  where  to  go. 
They  show  up  always  where  children  are  congre- 
gated; they  are  centres  of  pleasurable  excitement 
and  enthusiasm.  Perhaps  you  can  picture  the  scene 
when  a  man  comes  along,  at  close  of  school,  with 
well-broken  and  hardy  little  ponies." 


The  Shetland  Pony  Farm         191 

"  I  can,"  said  Leonard,  emphatically.  "  I've  been 
a  boy  myself." 

"  Perhaps,"  continued  Dodd,  "  you  can  picture 
various  fond  fathers  either  reaching  for  their 
pocket-books  or  taking  to  the  woods  when  the  cry 
goes  up,  '  Dodd's  ponies  are  coming ! ' 

"  I  do  not  see  how  a  fond  father  could  avoid 
one  thing  or  the  other,"  asserted  Leonard. 

"  Nor  I,"  added  Mrs.  Congrove.  "  I  should  think 
there'd  be  a  fortune  in  your  scheme." 

"  It's  one  thing  to  sell  ponies  through  the  regular 
horse  markets,  and  another  to  sell  them  through 
the  children,"  declared  Leonard. 

"  All  of  which  convinces  me,"  said  Dodd,  drily, 
"  that  possibly  an  all-wise  Providence  was  showing 
thoughtful  consideration  for  the  fond  fathers  when 
it  deprived  me  of  my  money  before  I  had  thought 
out  this  scheme.  Otherwise,  I  would  be  more  dan- 
gerous than  a  pirate." 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE   CASE   OF   DODD   VS.    WAKELEY 

DAKE  WAKELEY'S  log  cabin  was  in  a  clearing  at 
the  north  end  of  the  Dodd  farm,  and  it  was  in  such 
a  tumble-down  condition  that  it  had  to  be  propped 
up  with  poles  on  one  side.  No  one  knew  just  when 
Dake  had  taken  possession  of  it ;  he  was  simply  dis- 
covered there  one  day,  and  Dodd  had  let  him  stay. 
The  Dodd  farm  was  unusually  extensive,  but  only 
the  south  part  of  it  was  cleared  and  planted,  the 
north  end  being  still  nearly  all  forest,  with  winding 
roads  cut  through.  As  Dodd  had  no  possible  use 

for  the  old  cabin,  and  was  not  utilizing  the  land 

192 


The   Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    193 

in  the  vicinity,  he  saw  no  reason  to  disturb  Dake, 
further  than  to  exact  a  nominal  rent  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  his  title  from  being  threatened  by 
any  attempt  to  establish  squatter  rights.  This  nom- 
inal rental  was  paid  in  work,  and,  to  such  extent, 
Dake  received  recognition  and  was  allowed  to  do 
a  little  farming  on  his  own  account.  As  he  lived 
on  almost  nothing,  begged  a  part  of  his  provisions, 
made  some  money  by  his  farming,  and  spent  noth- 
ing, he  was  popularly  supposed  to  have  a  fairly 
good  sum  hoarded  up.  But  he  looked  like  a  pov- 
erty-stricken wretch. 

When  they  came  in  sight  of  the  cabin,  Mrs.  Con- 
grove  and  Miss  Marsden  could  not  repress  an  ex- 
clamation of  astonishment. 

"  Is  it  possible  that  any  one  lives  in  that  place?  " 
cried  Mrs.  Congrove. 

"  I  would  hardly  say  '  lives,'  "  replied  Dodd,  "  but 
Dake  Wakeley  exists  there." 

"  It  looks  deserted,"  said  Miss  Marsden.  "  Some 
of  the  windows  are  broken  and  there  are  cracks 
between  the  logs.  One  corner  seems  almost  ready 
to  collapse." 

"  True,"  returned  Dodd.  "  It  matches  the  man. 
If  he's  too  miserly  to  repair  himself,  you  can't 
expect  him  to  repair  his  home.  He  plugs  up  the 


194  Delightful  Dodd 

holes  in  winter  and  lets  things  rip  in  summer  — 
inside  and  out.  You  ought  to  see  the  inside." 

"  Is  it  like  the  outside  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  No,"  replied  Dodd.  "  He  can't  prevent  the  sun 
and  the  rain  from  getting  at  the  outside,  and  sort 
of  cleaning  and  cheering  things  up  a  bit,  but  he 
can  shut  them  out  of  the  inside  and  keep  things 
slovenly  enough  to  seem  sort  of  homelike  to  him. 
I  don't  think  you'd  better  go  in.  I'll  bring  him  out." 

Dodd  left  the  surrey  a  short  distance  from  the 
cabin,  and  went  after  his  man.  The  door  almost  fell 
in  when  he  pushed  it,  being  caught  by  some  one  on 
the  inside,  who  pushed  it  back  into  place,  and  then 
laboriously  opened  it  by  lifting  one  side  and  swing- 
ing it  around.  The  top  hinge  was  missing,  and  the 
lower  one  was  only  a  piece  of  leather. 

The  sun  was  just  disappearing  behind  the  trees 
to  the  west,  but  its  last  rays  made  the  cabin  and 
its  occupant  stand  out  very  distinctly  when  the  man 
emerged.  And  they  were  eminently  suited  to  each 
other.  Dake  Wakeley  was  even  more  dilapidated 
than  his  home.  He  had  only  one  eye,  a  scraggly 
gray  beard,  matted  hair,  and  only  about  a  third  the 
usual  number  of  teeth,  as  was  very  evident  when 
he  tried  to  talk.  He  was  dirty,  unkempt,  ragged, 
and  the  way  he  held  his  hand  to  his  ear  showed 
that  he  was  also  slightly  deaf,  although  later  it 


DAKE   WAKELEY. 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    195 

was  discovered  that  he  had  little  difficulty  in  hear- 
ing what  he  wanted  to  hear. 

A  conference  followed  that  seemed  to  be  mutually 
unsatisfactory.  Dodd  apparently  was  trying  to  in- 
sist upon  something,  to  which  Dake  strenuously  ob- 
jected, for  Dodd  would  point  to  the  surrey  and 
Dake  would  shake  his  head.  Finally  Dodd  came 
slowly  back  to  the  surrey,  while  Dake  started  away 
across  the  fields. 

"  He  wants  to  tell  his  story  to  a  judge,"  Dodd 
announced.  "  I  wanted  him  to  tell  it  to  you,  just 
to  satisfy  my  own  conscience  that  I  am  just  and 
right  in  the  matter." 

"  Do  you  have  to  let  him  put  you  to  all  this 
trouble?  "  asked  Leonard,  to  whom  the  remark  had 
been  addressed. 

"  Why,  no,"  replied  Dodd,  simply.  "  He  has 
occupied  and  used  my  property  for  years  without 
a  cent  of  pay,  although  lately  I  have  insisted  that 
he  shall  do  a  trifling  amount  of  work  as  a  sort  of 
recognition  of  my  ownership.  I  can  put  him  off  at 
any  time ;  but,"  in  his  conciliatory  way,  "  if  it  will 
satisfy  him  any  better  to  tell  his  story  to  Judge 
Pratt,  why  not  let  him  do  it  ?  I  always  like  to  con- 
vince people  that  I'm  fair.  If  you  don't  mind,"  he 
added,  resuming  his  seat  in  the  surrey,  "  we'll  drive 
over  to  Pratt's  farm.  He's  the  nearest  justice,  and 


196  Delightful  Dodd 

his  duties  take  mighty  little  time  from  his  farm 
work.  Dake  is  taking  a  short  cut  that  will  get  him 
there  as  soon  as  we  are." 

As  they  drove  along,  all  were  thinking  of  the 
curious  and  repulsive  old  fellow,  who  chose  to  live 
alone  in  this  wretched  way,  and  make  himself  even 
more  unprepossessing  than  nature  had  made  him. 

"  How  lonely  it  must  be !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Con- 
grove,  with  a  shudder. 

"  Not  necessarily,"  returned  Dodd,  musingly. 
"  A  man  may  be  company  for  himself  in  the  woods, 
but  never  in  the  city.  I  have  been  joyous  in  the 
solitude  of  the  woods;  I  have  laughed  and  sung 
as  I  drove  through  a  sparsely  settled  country,  where 
I  met  few  and  knew  none;  but  I  was  miserable  in 
my  loneliness  one  day  in  New  York  City.  I  sat 
at  a  hotel  window  and  watched  the  hurrying  throng, 
and  I  realized  that  never  before  in  my  life  had  I 
known  what  real  loneliness  was.  In  all  that  crowd 
not  a  soul  did  I  know  and  not  a  soul  knew  me. 
I  was  no  more  to  them  than  any  brick  in  any  of 
the  buildings;  I  was  just  a  jackstraw  in  the  pile. 
No  other  day  of  my  life  was  so  long  as  that  one, 
and  never  before  or  since  have  I  been  so  blue  and 
depressed.  And  I  was  not  a  backwoodsman,  unac- 
customed to  city  ways,  either.  I  tell  you,  there 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    197 

is  no  loneliness  in  the  country  that  equals  the  lone- 
liness of  a  stranger  in  a  great  city." 

Dodd's  voice  was  dreamily  gentle  as  he  said  this, 
and  somehow  it  turned  the  thoughts  of  all  into 
channels  that  made  them  silent.  It  was  dusk  now, 
—  the  hour  of  sentiment  and  sympathy,  —  and  there 
was  not  one  of  them  who  did  not  conjure  up  some 
picture  of  pathetic  loneliness.  Leonard  and  Miss 
Marsden  were  rather  glad  to  have  their  thoughts 
and  the  attention  of  the  other  two  diverted. 

Thus  they  arrived  at  the  home  of  Theodore  Pratt, 
J.  P.,  and  found  that  worthy,  milk-pail  in  hand, 
listening  to  an  explanation  of  the  situation  by  Dake 
Wakeley,  who  had  arrived  a  moment  before,  and 
had  caught  the  distinguished  judicial  officer  between 
the  barn  and  the  house. 

"  Hiram !  "  yelled  the  justice,  when  he  saw  Dodd 
drive  up.  "  You  Hiram !  Come  get  this  milk  an' 
tell  your  ma  to  put  a  lamp  in  the  court-room.  I 
got  law  business  on  hand." 

Then,  without  waiting  for  Hiram,  he  put  down 
the  milk-pail  and  advanced  to  the  surrey. 

"  Evenin',  Dodd,"  was  his  greeting. 

"  Good  evening,  judge,"  returned  Dodd,  as  sol- 
emnly as  if  the  incongruity  of  the  whole  thing  were 
not  apparent  to  him. 

"  Got  a  purty  big  case  on,  I  hear,"  persisted  the 


Delightful   Dodd 


justice.     "  Reckon  I  better  send  over  fer  Cy  Tap- 
pan  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  willing  to  leave  it  to  you,"  said  Dodd. 

'  "  No,"  said  the  justice,  gravely  shaking  his  head. 

"  When  it  ain't  more'n  the  case  of  a  stray  sow, 

I'm  willin'  to  try  it  alone,  but  this  here's  a  case  for 

advice." 

"Dodd,  he  don't  care,"  put  in  Wakeley.  "It 
ain't  nothin'  to  him,  fer  he's  rich." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I'm  rich,"  retorted  Dodd,  sarcastically. 
"  I  made  $2,000  to-day  by  raising  the  price  of  my 
farm." 

"Got  a  buyer?"  asked  the  justice,  quickly. 

"  No,"  replied  Dodd.  "  I  haven't  even  got  an 
offer,  but  I  put  up  the  price  $2,000,  so  I'm  $2,000 
richer.  Anybody  can  see  that.  If  I  don't  seem  rich 
enough  to-morrow,  I'll  put  it  up  again.  It's  easy 
to  make  money  when  the  assessor  isn't  due." 

"  I  wisht  I  could  git  rich  like  that,"  grumbled 
Wakeley,  and  the  laughing  party  in  the  surrey  were 
astonished  to  see  that  both  the  justice  and  Wakeley 
were  blind  to  the  point  of  the  joke. 

"  You  study  Wall  Street  until  you  find  out  what 
fictional  wealth  is,"  advised  Dodd,  "  and  then  you 
can  get  rich  any  time.  I  don't  see  why  you  can't 
make  as  much  as  you  want  by  raising  the  price  of 
your  hat." 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    199 

The  justice  scratched  his  head  in  perplexity,  and 
Dake  Wakeley  took  off  his  battered  old  hat  and 
looked  at  it.  Then  the  justice  decided  that  the 
problem  was  too  much  for  him,  and  invited  them 
all  into  the  house  to  have  a  glass  of  cider  while 
waiting  for  Hiram  to  bring  Cy  Tappan,  the  asso- 
ciate justice  pro  tern. 

The  "  court-room,"  to  which  they  repaired, 
proved  to  be  a  room  that  also  did  duty  as  parlour 
and  library.  It  had  the  old,  stiff,  uncomfortable 
haircloth  furniture,  a  small  organ  that  probably 
hadn't  been  opened  for  years,  the  usual  books  and 
trinkets  on  the  what-not,  some  family  pictures  and 
chromos,  a  big  Bible,  and,  in  one  corner,  a  table 
for  the  justice.  It  was  all  so  stiff  and  formal  that 
it  gave  one  the  blues,  but  here  they  sat  and  talked 
until  Tappan  arrived,  although  Dake  was  consid- 
erate enough  to  wait  outside. 

When  Tappan  appeared,  he  and  Pratt  took  their 
places  behind  the  table  in  the  corner,  with  the  lamp 
in  front  of  them  and  a  solitary  law-book  at  Pratt' s 
elbow.  Then  Dodd  and  Wakeley  were  called  upon 
to  take  seats  directly  in  front  of  the  table,  while 
the  others  sat  a  little  behind  them. 

"  This  here  court  will  come  to  order !  "  announced 
Justice  Pratt.  Then,  apologetically,  "  I  ain't  always 
so  pertickler  on  forms,  but  this  here's  a  big  case, 


2OO  Delightful  Dodd 

an'  we  can't  be  too  careful  to  see  that  the  rich  an' 
the  lowly  has  ekal  justice.  Now,  what's  it  all 
about?" 

"  Why,  your  honours,"  Dodd  began,  gravely,  but 
Wakeley  interrupted  with,  "  He's  tryin'  to  beat  me, 
—  him  a  rich  man  an'  me  a  poor  one." 

"  Silence  in  the  court  I  "  ordered  Justice  Pratt. 
"  You  ain't  the  judge,  to  say  what  anybody's  tryin' 
to  do.  That's  what  me  an'  Cy  is  here  fer.  Now, 
what's  it  all  about?" 

Dodd  waited  for  Wakeley  to  begin  his  story  this 
time,  but  Wakeley  had  been  cowed  by  the  repri- 
mand. 

"  The  plaintiff,"  began  Pratt,  and  then  stopped. 
"  Dern  me,  if  I  know  which  is  the  plaintiff,"  he  said, 
bewildered.  "  How  about  that,  Cy?  " 

Tappan,  however,  was  as  bewildered  as  his  asso- 
ciate, and  could  only  scratch  his  head  and  look 
anxiously  at  the  solitary  law-book. 

"  The  court,"  announced  Pratt,  "  will  talk  over 
the  law." 

Then  the  two  farmers  leaned  toward  each  other, 
in  earnest  consultation,  until  their  gray  whiskers 
and  gray  hair  intermingled.  Dodd  took  this  oppor- 
tunity to  turn  until  Leonard  and  the  two  ladies  could 
see  his  twinkling  eyes.  They  were  all  having 
trouble  keeping  their  faces  straight,  for  both  of  the 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    20 1 

farmers  were  entirely  solemn  and  serious  about  the 
matter,  and  Pratt' s  sudden  switches  from  the  ex- 
treme of  dignity  to  the  familiar  "  Cy  "  that  he  used 
when  addressing  his  associate  were  really  convuls- 
ing, —  the  more  so  because  he  had  no  idea  that  he 
was  anything  but  gravely  impressive. 

"  The  court,"  said  Pratt,  when  the  conference 
was  ended,  "  decides  that  it  don't  care  which  is 
plaintiff,  there  not  seemin'  to  be  any  rule  coverin' 
the  point  in  this  case,  an'  it  decides  that  it's  Dodd's 
turn  to  tell  what  he  claims.  Go  ahead,  Dodd." 

"Has  Dodd  been  swore?"  interrupted  the  asso- 
ciate justice. 

"  By  gum !  "  cried  Pratt,  excitedly.  "  Hand  up 
that  Bible.  Dodd,  do  you  swear  to  take  this 
woman  —  " 

His  associate  nudged  him,  and  Pratt  stopped  and 
grew  very  red. 

"  I  was  usin'  that  form  last  night,"  he  said,  ex- 
planatorily. "  Kiss  the  Bible,  Dodd,  an'  give  me 
your  word  you'll  stick  to  facts." 

Both  parties  to  the  controversy  having  thus 
agreed  to  stick  to  facts,  Pratt  again  instructed  Dodd 
to  tell  his  story. 

"  This  man,  Dake  Wakeley,  has  been  on  my 
land  for  a  good  many  years,"  said  Dodd,  "  and 
during  the  last  few  years  I  have  insisted  that  he 


2O2  Delightful  Dodd 

shall  pay  a  small  rental  in  produce,  just  to  keep 
the  question  of  ownership  clear." 

"  I  paid  it,  ain't  I  ?  "  interrupted  Wakeley. 

"  Not  the  last  time,"  replied  Dodd. 

"  I  can't  pay  what  I  ain't  got,  an'  —  " 

"  Silence !  "  thundered  Justice  Pratt.  "  Go  on, 
Dodd." 

"  I  have  occasionally  paid  him  a  little  something 
for  work,  too,"  said  Dodd,  "  and  last  winter  I  made 
a  deal  with  him  to  clear  three  and  a  half  acres  at 
twenty  dollars  an  acre.  Isn't  that  correct,  Wake- 
ley?" 

"  Yes,  but  I  ain't  got  the  money." 

"  Seventy  dollars,"  announced  Tappan,  who  had 
made  a  hasty  computation  on  his  fingers. 

"  A  big  case,"  commented  Pratt.  "  That's  why 
I  was  fer  callin'  you  in.  Go  on,  Dodd." 

"  After  clearing  this  three  and  a  half  acres  of 
timber,"  Dodd  continued,  "  he  was  to  plant  it  to 
potatoes,  share  and  share  alike,  and  then  pay  himself 
for  the  work  out  of  my  share.  I  was  to  have  noth- 
ing until  my  share  had  paid  him  seventy  dollars. 
In  other  words,  he  was  to  get  a  total  of  $140  out 
of  that  cleared  space  before  he  began  to  pay  me 
anything,  and  after  that  it  was  to  be  share  and  share 
alike  of  whatever  was  raised  on  it,  as  long  as  I 
owned  the  land  and  he  planted  it." 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    203 

"  That's  the  reg'lar  way  of  farmin'  on  shares," 
said  Pratt. 

"  And  the  clearing  that  his  house  and  garden  are 
on  he's  been  using  without  any  pay  ever  since  he 
first  located  there,"  added  Dodd.  "  I  thought  I 
was  pretty  liberal." 

"  Looks  that  way,"  said  Pratt,  and  Tappan 
nodded  a  grave  affirmation. 

"  But  I  ain't  never  got  the  money  out  of  the 
clearin',  an'  I  want  it,"  asserted  Wakeley,  doggedly. 

"  You  didn't  plant  it,"  said  Dodd,  "  but  you  took 
my  timber  and  sold  it." 

"  I  got  to  get  paid  some  way,"  said  Wakeley. 

"  Hold  on !  "  ordered  Pratt.  "  What's  the  rest  of 
the  story?" 

"  The  timber,  of  course,  belonged  to  me,"  ex- 
plained Dodd.  "  That's  why  I  was  willing  to  pay 
him  to  clear  the  land.  But  he  sold  the  timber,  pock- 
eted the  money,  and  didn't  plant  the  clearing  at  all. 
Then  he  made  a  further  demand  on  me  for  the 
seventy  dollars  cash." 

"  I  was  to  have  it  fer  clearin'  the  land,"  Wakeley 
declared. 

"  You  were  to  get  it  out  of  the  potatoes,"  asserted 
Dodd. 

"  But  there  ain't  any  potatoes,"  argued  Wakeley. 

"That's  your  fault,"  said  Dodd. 


204  Delightful  Dodd 

"  But  there  ain't  any  potatoes,"  repeated  Wake- 
ley,  sullenly.  "  I  got  to  have  my  money." 

"  You  sold  the  timber,"  said  Dodd. 

"  Well,  I  got  to  get  my  money  somehow,"  argued 
Wakeley. 

"  And  now  you  want  seventy  dollars  cash." 

"  I  was  to  git  it  fer  clearin'  the  land." 

"  Silence !  "  ordered  Pratt.  "  It's  ag'in  the  dig- 
nity of  this  here  court  to  have  any  back-talkin'. 
Now,  what's  the  claim  ?  " 

"  I  want  my  seventy  dollars !  "  exclaimed  Wake- 
ley. 

"  Your  honours,"  said  Dodd,  "  I  am  entitled  to 
the  money  for  the  sale  of  the  timber,  and  I  have 
a  right  to  demand  that  Wakeley  shall  get  his  pay 
as  originally  arranged.  I  am  in  no  way  to  blame 
for  his  failure  to  plant  the  clearing  to  potatoes  this 
year,  and  his  neglect  to  carry  out  the  agreement 
means  some  loss  to  me,  —  the  loss  of  my  share 
of  this  year's  yield.  It  certainly  is  no  more  than 
fair  to  demand  that  he  get  his  pay  out  of  that  clear- 
ing, beginning  next  year,  but  I'm  willing  to  do  even 
better  than  that.  Let  him  take  his  pay  out  of  the 
money  he  got  for  the  timber  —  it  was  valuable 
timber  —  and  return  the  balance  to  me.  Then  he 
may  plant  the  clearing  on  shares  next  year." 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    205 

"  I  got  to  git  my  money,"  said  Wakeley,  as  if 
he  could  think  of  nothing  else. 

"  Let's  sum  up  these  here  claims,"  interposed 
Pratt.  "  Wakeley  claims  seventy  dollars  fer  clearin' 
the  land,  an'  Dodd  claims  the  money  fer  the  timber." 

"  There's  the  question  of  planting  the  clearing, 
and  getting  the  money  that  way,"  suggested  Dodd. 

"  It  ain't  planted,"  declared  Pratt,  oracularly, 
"  so  it  don't  rigger  in  the  case.  Me  an'  Cy  has  the 
facts  now,  so  we'll  step  outside  an'  consider.  No 
use  sayin'  more." 

The  two  judges  rose  and  walked  out  on  to  the 
porch,  where  they  could  be  seen  arguing  the  ques- 
tion for  five  or  ten  minutes.  Then  they  marched 
back,  and  Pratt,  standing,  announced  the  decision 
of  the  court. 

"  Considerin'  this  matter  as  between  man  an' 
man,"  he  said,  impressively,  "  we  find  that  Dan'l 
Dodd  an'  Dake  Wakeley,  each  on  'em,  owes  the 
court  fifty  cents  an'  fees,  an'  .that  Dan'l  Dodd  owes 
Dake  Wakeley  five  dollars,  an'  the  question  of 
plantin'  the  clearin'  to  potatoes  can  come  up  next 
season,  if  they  don't  fix  it  up  between  'em  afore 
that.  An',  as  man  to  man,  we  think  this  fair." 

It  was  Dodd's  turn  to  scratch  his  head  and  look 
bewildered,  and  Leonard  was  quite  as  bewildered. 


206  Delightful  Dodd 

Aside  from  any  question  of  the  merits  of  the  case, 
where  had  that  five  dollars  come  in  ?  Neither  party, 
at  any  point,  had  even  thought  of  a  five-dollar  claim. 
But  Dodd  was  abstractedly  reaching  for  his  pocket- 
book. 

"  It's  outrageous !  "  whispered  Leonard,  leaning 
forward.  "  Don't  pay  it." 

"  Oh,  they  mean  all  right,"  replied  Dodd. 

"  But  you  can  get  back  at  old  One-Eye,  anyway," 
urged  Leonard,  for  the  decision  made  him  indig- 
nant. 

"  I  can,"  admitted  Dodd.  "  But  I  told  him  I'd 
leave  it  to  the  justice,  and  I  never  was  a  small  man, 
—  that  is,  not  that  I  know  of.  I'll  just  pay  him 
the  five  and  call  it  settled.  I  never  was  much  of  a 
fellow  for  revenge." 

Still  Leonard  was  dissatisfied,  and  he  watched  for 
an  opportunity  to  speak  to  Pratt  when  they  all 
walked  out  to  the  surrey. 

"  Pardon  me,  judge,"  he  said,  "  but  that  decision 
certainly  puzzles  me." 

"  Oh,  Dodd's  a  good  fellow,"  replied  the  justice, 
"  and  we  didn't  want  to  be  hard  on  him." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me  you  were,"  urged  Leonard. 
"  The  judgment  should  have  been  against  the  other 
man,  according  to  my  view  of  the  evidence." 

The  justice  shook  his  head. 


The  Case  of  Dodd  vs.  Wakeley    207 

"  It  ain't  any  use  passin'  judgments  that  can't 
be  enforced,"  he  said.  "  It  hurts  the  dignity  of  a 
court.  An'  you  can  see  he  ain't  got  any  money, 
so  ain't  it  foolish  to  order  a  man  to  do  what  he 
can't  do  ?  But  you  got  to  make  some  findin'." 

"  The  evidence  showed  he  got  the  money  for  that 
timber,  didn't  it  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

The  justice  stopped  short. 

"  By  gum !  we  clean  fergot  that !  "  he  exclaimed. 
"  It's  a  dern  shame,  that's  what  it  is ! " 

Although  he  refused  to  store  the  thing  up  against 
his  late  opponent  and  take  the  revenge  that  was 
within  his  reach,  even  going  so  far  the  other  way 
as  to  say  a  pleasant  word  when  he  paid  the  money, 
the  kindly  Dodd  was  really  disgruntled  by  the  de- 
cision, and  they  were  nearly  home  before  he  bright- 
ened up  and  remarked  that  it  was  a  costly  joke. 

"  What  was  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  That  remark  about  making  $2,000  by  raising 
the  price  of  my  farm.  I  figure  it  out  that  I  paid 
five  dollars  for  that  joke.  The  judge  didn't  see 
the  point,  and  he  assessed  the  damages  against  the 
man  he  thought  could  best  afford  to  pay.  They 
don't  like  rich  men  up  here,  anyway,  and  —  Well, 
any  time  you  think  I'm  getting  too  gay,  just  say 
'  Five  dollars,'  and  see  how  quick  I'll  calm  down. 
I  always  did  hate  a  man  who  couldn't  be  serious." 


208  Delightful  Dodd 

But  the  moonlight  showed  those  twinkling  eyes 
again,  for  Dodd  liked  nothing  better  than  to  state 
a  truth  facetiously  or  a  joke  solemnly,  and  there  was 
truth  in  what  he  said  about  the  justice. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

DODD   AND   THE   INDIANS 

LEONARD  at  last  had  discovered  the  joy  of  work- 
ing, —  not  of  working  for  fame  or  profit,  but  just 
of  working.  The  work  he  had  been  doing  was  not 
congenial,  but  he  discovered  that  it  was  infinitely 
better  than  idleness. 

"  Without  the  work,"  he  told  himself,  "  life  here 
would  have  been  intolerable,  and  I  would  have 
wearied  of  it  long  ago.  It  was  all  right  for  a  brief 
change  from  the  previous  excitement,  but  I  couldn't 
have  stood  it  long.  With  the  work,  time  has  passed 
rather  pleasantly." 

Of  course,  Leonard  had,  and  could  appreciate,  the 
companionship  of  Dodd,  and  there  was  always  a 
welcome  for  him  at  the  main  house,  so  his  situation 
was  not  exactly  that  of  the  ordinary  farm-hand. 
Then,  too,  Jessie  Marsden  had  given  him  plenty  of 
food  for  thought,  so  that  his  mind  was  occupied. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  she  had  had  a  good 

deal  to  do  with  the  eagerness  with  which  he  adopted 

209 


210  Delightful  Dodd 

farm  work  as  a  temporary  solution  of  the  problem 
that  confronted  him,  but  later  he  had  found  a  meas- 
ure of  personal  satisfaction  in  it.  The  gratification 
of  doing  came  into  his  life  for  the  first  time.  Only 
the  physically  tired  man  can  really  appreciate  sleep 
and  rest ;  the  man  who  does  not  tire  himself  in  hon- 
est labour  loses  one  of  the  greatest  pleasures  of  life. 
Without  exactly  reasoning  it  out,  Leonard  had  come 
to  understand  this,  and  was  looking  forward  to  the 
time  when  he  should  have  an  opportunity  to  do 
something  really  worthy  of  himself.  And  this  op- 
portunity was  already  in  sight.  Alvord,  the  lawyer, 
had  written  to  say  that  one  of  the  men  to  whom 
Leonard  had  applied  by  letter  would  have  an  open- 
ing for  him  about  the  middle  of  September.  This 
man  had  been  a  friend  of  Leonard's  father,  and, 
after  a  conference  with  Alvord,  had  decided  to  give 
the  young  man  a  chance  to  show  what  he  could  do. 
The  salary  would  be  small  for  a  man  accustomed 
to  live  as  Leonard  had  lived,  but  there  was  excellent 
promise  for  the  future.  That  was  all  Leonard 
asked.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his  inclinations  had  so 
changed  that  he  would  have  accepted  that  place  even 
if  his  lost  money  were  suddenly  restored  to  him. 
There  was  so  much  more  in  life  when  one  was  doing 
something,  when  one  felt  that  one's  own  efforts  were 
bringing  even  a  small  measure  of  success.  He  found 


Dodd  and  the  Indians  211 

that  he  had  the  same  ambition  to  win  at  work  that 
he  formerly  had  to  win  at  play.  And  the  same  letter 
that  brought  him  the  news  of  his  opportunity  also 
informed  him  that  there  was  likely  to  be  no  ques- 
tion of  wealth  to  distract  his  thoughts.  He  would 
get  a  little  out  of  the  wrecked  bank,  but  only  enough 
to  make  things  a  trifle  easier  for  a  short  time,  — 
not  enough  to  invest  with  a  view  to  having  a  perma- 
nent income.  But  this  news  did  not  trouble  Leon- 
ard as  much  as  the  news  of  his  business  opportunity 
pleased  him;  his  interest  centred  in  what  he  could 
do  rather  than  in  what  he  could  get.  If  only  Miss 
Marsden  had  been  a  little  more  gracious,  the  sum- 
mer—  But,  as  usual,  he  steered  away  from  this 
subject  when  he  reached  this  point. 

As  the  time  for  his  departure  approached,  he 
talked  the  matter  over  frequently  with  Dodd,  and 
the  latter  seemed  to  share  his  enthusiasm  and  pleas- 
ure. 

"  Do  you  know,"  he  said,  as  they  sat  on  the 
porch  one  evening,  "  I  never  supposed  it  was  a  pos- 
sible thing  for  me  to  work  like  this !  " 

"  Habit,"  commented  Dodd.  "  Habit  puts  re- 
strictions on  all  of  us,  and  we  have  to  put  aside  the 
restrictions  before  we  know  what  we  can  do.  Why, 
there  was  a  school-teacher  came  to  me  once  —  Did 


212  Delightful   Dodd 

you  know  that  I  served  as  a  school  trustee  for  a 
time?" 

"  I  didn't,"  replied  Leonard,  "  but  I  should  think 
you  would  make  a  good  one." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Dodd,  "but  I 
had  my  own  ideas.  Well,  this  school-teacher  came 
to  me  and  said  the  work  was  too  hard. 

"  '  Others  seem  to  stand  it,'  I  suggested.  '  Are 
you  ill  or  an  invalid  ? ' 

"'No;  I'm  in  perfect  health,'  she  replied, 
warmly ;  '  but  I  can't  stand  the  hours  and  the  work.' 

"  '  Habit,'  I  said,  '  has  put  restrictions  on  you  that 
you  should  remove.  Then  you  will  discover  how 
much  you  can  do.' 

"  I  had  studied  her  pretty  closely  while  she  was 
there,  and  I  thought  she  would  see  the  point  of  this, 
but  she  merely  left  in  indignation.  Then  her  mother 
came. 

" '  You  are  killing  my  daughter  with  work,'  she 
said.  '  Her  health  is  being  undermined.' 

" '  I  have  noticed  it,'  I  returned. 

"  '  She  must  be  transferred  or  given  some  lighter 
work,'  she  persisted.  '  Why,  she  fainted  twice  last 
week.' 

" '  Madam,'  I  said,  '  do  you  really  wish  to  do 
something  for  your  daughter's  welfare  in  this  mat- 
ter?' 


Dodd  and  the  Indians  213 

"  '  Of  course/  she  replied ;  '  or,  rather,  I  want 
you  to  do  it.' 

" '  It  wouldn't  be  proper  for  me  to  do  it,'  I  told 
her. 

"'Why  not?'  she  asked. 

"  *  Because,'  I  said,  with  my  most  courtly  bow, 
'  all  she  needs  is  to  have  her  corset-strings  cut.' 

"  Well,"  concluded  Dodd,  "  I  don't  know  whether 
the  restrictions  of  habit  were  removed  in  this  case 
or  not,  but  I  heard  no  more  complaints  from  that 
woman  or  her  daughter.  Any  one  of  sense  could 
have  seen  the  reason  for  her  fainting  spells." 

Mrs.  Congrove,  Miss  Marsden,  and  some  of  the 
other  boarders  had  come  out  on  the  porch  during  the 
telling  of  this  little  anecdote,  and  their  laughter  en- 
couraged the  old  man  to  delve  a  little  deeper  into 
his  school  experiences. 

"  The  great  trouble  with  many  teachers  is  that 
they  have  learned  their  little  lesson  just  as  they 
expect  the  scholars  to  learn  theirs,"  he  remarked, 
musingly,  "  and  they  don't  know  anything  else. 
It's  all  a  matter  of  rules :  they  learn  by  rule  and 
they  teach  by  rule;  they  seldom  do  any  reasoning. 
If  you  stop  one  of  them  in  the  middle  of  a  demon- 
stration, she's  got  to  begin  at  the  beginning  again, 
like  a  parrot  speaking  a  piece;  if  a  child  does  an 
example  a  new  way,  the  teacher  is  lost  and  marks 


214  Delightful  Dodd 

it  wrong  on  general  principles.  Why,  I  had  one 
come  up  for  examination,  who  had  a  formula  as 
long  as  your  arm  for  the  simplest  problems.  When 
she  got  started,  I  could  just  catch  something  like 
this :  '  Constituent  units  .  .  .  factors  .  .  .  ratio  of 
.  .  .  divide  .  .  .  find  the  relation  .  .  .  and  then 
you  add  and  multiply.'  That  seemed  to  be  the  limit 
of  her  knowledge,  and  she  would  rattle  it  off  at  the 
rate  of  a  mile  a  minute.  If  you  stopped  her,  she 
would  have  to  begin  all  over  again.  I'm  not  sure 
that  it  was  always  identically  the  same  rule,  but  she 
always  reached  the  same  conclusion  —  to  add  and 
multiply.  Why,  she  rattled  along  down  to  that 
same  point  when  I  suddenly  switched  my  question- 
ing from  arithmetic  to  geography,  and  she  never 
could  understand  why  she  didn't  get  a  place  in  our 
schools.  Said  I  was  prejudiced,  I  believe." 

"What  is  she  doing  now?"  asked  one  of  the 
ladies. 

"  Still  trying  to  add  and  multiply,  I  guess,"  re- 
plied Dodd,  dreamily.  "  She's  married." 

For  a  moment  there  was  a  dead  silence.  Then 
Leonard  deliberately  tipped  his  chair  over  and  rolled 
off  the  porch.  A  jolly  little  woman  put  a  handker- 
chief to  her  face,  but  could  not  stifle  the  sounds 
of  suppressed  laughter.  A  very  prim  young  woman 


Dodd  and  the  Indians  215 

began,  "  I  don't  see  —  "  and  stopped.  Then,  some- 
how, the  little  gathering  broke  up. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Dodd,  as  Leonard, 
still  laughing,  got  on  his  feet. 

But  Leonard  only  shooed  Dodd  away  weakly 
with  one  hand  and  continued  to  laugh,  —  not  so 
much  at  Dodd's  slip  of  the  tongue  as  at  the  bewil- 
dered, blank  looks  of  those  who  heard  it.  They 
did  not  know  whether  to  laugh  or  to  endeavour 
to  look  sublimely  unconscious,  and  this  it  was  that 
made  the  situation  so  ludicrous. 

"  I  didn't  mean  it,"  protested  Dodd. 

"  I  shall  never  be  able  to  decide  positively  whether 
you  did  or  not,"  replied  Leonard,  "but —  Hullo! 
here  come  your  Indians !  " 

Leonard  always  referred  to  the  Indians  as  Dodd's, 
because  they  seemed  to  trust  Dodd  and  depend  on 
him  in  many  ways.  Their  camp  was  across  the 
bay  to  the  west,  and  they  came  over  to  the  penin- 
sula to  sell  baskets  to  the  summer  boarders  scattered 
all  the  way  from  Neahtawanta  to  the  lighthouse. 
During  these  brief  visits  they  camped  on  Dodd's 
land,  came  to  Dodd  for  supplies,  and  gave  Dodd 
first  chance  to  buy  the  fish  that  they  occasionally 
caught.  Others  might  deal  with  them  and  sell  and 
buy,  but  Dodd  was  their  friend.  Now,  headed  by 
a  massive  half-breed  known  as  Big  John,  they  came 


216  Delightful  Dodd 

across  the  lawn  in  single  file  and  offered  some  fish 
for  sale.  Mrs.  Dodd  came  out  to  attend  to  the 
details  of  this  deal,  and  bought  and  paid  for  the 
fish  she  wanted.  Then  Big  John  held  up  a  quarter, 
and,  with  guttural  terseness,  said,  "  Corn !  "  Dodd 
took  the  quarter,  and  waved  his  hand  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  patch  of  sweet  corn,  whereupon  the  Indians 
filed  away  in  that  direction. 

"  I  suppose  they'll  take  all  they  can  carry/'  re- 
marked Leonard. 

"  They'll  take  no  more  than  they've  paid  for," 
replied  Dodd.  "  Treat  an  Indian  fair  and  he'll  treat 
you  fair;  cheat  him  and  he'll  get  even  with  you 
some  way  at  some  time.  I'll  trust  them  farther  than 
I  will  a  good  many  white  men  that  I  know." 

"  They  consider  Mr.  Dodd  their  friend,"  ex- 
plained Mrs.  Dodd,  "  and  they  trust  him." 

"  An  Indian's  faith,"  added  Dodd,  "  is  the  faith 
of  the  dog,  —  unwavering  and  unreasoning.  I  have 
been  clever  to  them  in  some  trifling  ways  —  " 

"  Trifling  ways,"  repeated  Mrs.  Dodd.  "  In  that 
cloudburst  last  spring,  when  their  temporary  camp 
was  washed  out,  you  took  them  to  Terrace  Cottage, 
and  then  you  came  to  the  house  through  that  fright- 
ful storm,  and  went  back  again  with  some  milk 
for  the  children  and  provisions  for  the  bucks  and 


Dodd  and  the  Indians  217 

squaws,  because  all  they  had  was  spoiled  or  washed 
away." 

"  But  a  fellow  doesn't  like  to  think  of  people  being 
cold  and  wet  and  hungry,"  pleaded  Dodd.  "  That 
was  an  awful  night  to  spend  without  shelter.  They 
had  papooses  with  them,  too.  And  they  cleaned 
up  the  cottage  before  leaving  as  no  white  man  ever 
would  think  of  doing.  I  guess  they  would  do  as 
much  for  me  if  I  happened  to  be  on  the  other  side 
of  the  bay." 

"  That's  right  enough,"  laughed  Mrs.  Dodd.  "  I 
don't  think  there  is  anything  they  wouldn't  do  for 
you." 

"  Besides,"  persisted  Dodd,  "  somebody  ought  to 
stand  up  for  them,  for  nearly  everybody  is  against 
them.  When  they  go  to  town  on  circus  day,  they 
get  drunk  and  make  trouble,  —  a  trick  the  white 
man  has  taught  them,  —  and  so  the  white  man 
charges  all  evil  up  to  them.  Chickens  and  an  occa- 
sional pig  have  been  stolen  from  some  of  the  farms 
lately.  Two  men  have  been  to  me  to  accuse  the 
Indians,  and  to  get  me  to  join  them  in  a  scheme  to 
have  their  main  camp  on  the  west  shore  searched." 

"  What  did  you  say  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"I  told  them,"  replied  Dodd,  "that  it  is  my 
experience  that  the  Indians  never  steal,  knowingly. 
They  simply  take  the  pay  that  you  neglect  or  refuse 


21 8  Delightful  Dodd 

to  give  them.  If  the  Indians  took  anything  from 
me  without  my  knowledge  and  consent,  I  would 
immediately  review  the  past,  to  see  where  I  had 
defrauded  them.  When  an  Indian  steals,  he  thinks 
he  is  taking  only  what  is  due  him  from  the  com- 
munity or  the  individual,  —  with  interest  generally, 
just  like  the  white  man.  I  have  learned  that,  as 
long  as  I  am  fair  with  him,  he  will  be  fair  with 
me,  and  possibly  he  is  the  more  grateful  because 
there  are  so  few  who  do  not  suspect  him  and  show 
it.  But  there  have  been  a  lot  of  thefts  in  this 
vicinity  lately.  My  only  contention  is  that  you  can't 
tell  a  thief  by  the  colour  of  his  skin." 

"  And  the  Indians,"  suggested  Mrs.  Dodd,  "  are 
so  dependent  on  the  favour  of  the  people  and  the 
government  that  they  can't  afford  to  do  any  such 
extensive  stealing." 

"  Quite  true,"  admitted  Dodd,  "  but  I  rather  like 
to  credit  them  with  better  motives." 


CHAPTER   XX. 

DODD    IS    ANNOYED 

THE  near  approach  of  the  time  for  Leonard's 
departure  disturbed  Dodd.  It  was  not  that  he  was 
to  lose  Leonard,  although  he  had  conceived  a  great 
liking  for  the  young  man,  but  he  believed  that  Leon- 
ard was  going  to  lose  a  great  deal  himself.  The 
relations  existing  between  Leonard  and  Miss  Mars- 
den  distressed  Dodd,  for  he  felt  sure  that  he  knew 
what  lay  beneath  the  surface,  and  yet  he  saw  no 
way  of  making  them  understand  each  other  with- 
out breaking  faith  with  Leonard  and  explaining 
the  exact  situation.  Even  then,  he  was  pretty  sure 
to  be  misunderstood  and  to  make  things  worse,  for 
Dodd  fully  appreciated  what  a  ticklish  thing  it  is 
to  interfere  in  such  matters.  Nevertheless,  he  did 
venture  to  suggest  to  Leonard  that  Miss  Marsden 
laboured  under  a  misapprehension  that  was  unjust 
to  him. 

"  Well,  let  her,"  returned  Leonard,  rather  shortly. 
219 


220  Delightful  Dodd 

"  If  she  chooses  to  misinterpret  what  I  do,  it  is  her 
privilege." 

A  short  time  before  Dodd  would  have  greeted 
this  with  one  of  his  whimsical  smiles,  and  would 
have  thought  it  rather  diverting,  but  now  it  dis- 
turbed him.  He  could  see  and  enjoy  the  humour 
of  a  trifling  and  somewhat  absurd  misunderstand- 
ing, but  the  happiness  of  others  was  a  part  of  his 
creed.  For  the  happiness  of  others  he  decided  that 
he  was  justified  in  breaking  faith  with  Leonard  and 
explaining  the  young  man's  situation.  Dodd  was 
no  masculine  match-maker,  but  he  disliked  to  see 
things  go  seriously  wrong.  However,  it  was  one 
thing  to  decide  on  a  course,  and  quite  another  to 
act  on  the  decision.  Any  mention  of  Leonard  was 
greeted  by  Miss  Marsden  with  a  cold  formality  that 
Was  chilling.  It  was  a  good  deal  as  if  he  spoke  of 
the  Czar  of  Russia  or  the  Ahkoond  of  Swat  or  some 
other  person  so  far  removed  that  it  was  an  effort 
to  show  even  a  slight  interest  in  their  doings.  So, 
finally,  Dodd  was  forced  to  speak  without  getting 
a  favourable  opportunity,  and  he  showed  a  woeful 
lack  of  his  customary  diplomacy.  In  fact,  this  un- 
accustomed role  had  made  him  so  desperate  that  he 
leaned  forward  one  day,  and  said,  with  blunt  con- 
fidence :  "  He  isn't  as  bad  as  you  think.  Why,  he 
hasn't  any  money  at  all." 


Dodd  Is  Annoyed  221 

Miss  Marsden  was  so  astonished  that  she  did  not 
grasp  the  full  meaning  of  this  at  the  moment,  al- 
though she  knew  perfectly  well  to  whom  Dodd  re- 
ferred. 

"  Other  people's  personal  affairs  do  not  interest 
me,  Mr.  Dodd,"  she  replied,  and  Dodd  got  up,  and 
walked  disconsolately  away. 

"  I  always  suspected  that  I  was  a  fool,"  he  solilo- 
quized, "  but  I  wouldn't  have  believed  I  was  so  big 
a  fool,  without  proof.  And  I've  got  the  proof." 

He  was  so  completely  disgusted  with  himself  that 
it  was  with  a  positive  feeling  of  relief  that  he  saw 
Erastus  Dutton  driving  up  the  back  road  toward 
the  barn,  although  he  instantly  jumped  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Dutton  was  in  more  trouble,  and  more 
trouble  for  Dutton  was  likely  to  involve  him.  He 
was  on  Dutton's  short-time  note,  and  the  note  was 
nearly  due.  Furthermore,  Dutton  was  not  a  man 
to  put  himself  to  any  great  inconvenience  to  bring 
good  news. 

"  But  he'll  give  me  a  problem  that's  in  my  line," 
thought  Dodd,  "  and  won't  lure  me  on  to  show  how 
foolish  I  can  be." 

Dutton  began  to  talk  the  moment  he  drew  up  his 
horse  at  the  carriage-shed. 

"  You  ain't  goin'  to  lose  a  cent,  Dodd,"  he  said, 
with  trembling  voice,  as  he  climbed  out  of  his  buggy. 


222  Delightful   Dodd 

"  I'll  pay  ye  every  penny,  Dodd,  every  penny,  an' 
I  was  honest,  too.  I  thought  the  money  was  comin', 
an'  it  ought  to  come.  It's  got  to  come,  Dodd.  They 
promised  me,  an'  they  got  to  pay." 

The  purport  of  these  remarks  was  plain :  Dutton 
would  be  unable  to  meet  his  note,  and  Dodd  would 
have  to  pay. 

"  Lord !  what  will  Emma  say  ?  "  w*as  his  first 
thought.  His  sympathy  and  good  nature  had  led 
him  to  do  a  generous  but  unbusinesslike  thing,  to 
which  he  knew  his  sensible  wife  would  have  ob- 
jected, and  he  felt  a  good  deal  like  a  boy  who  had 
been  caught  playing  hookey.  But  he  showed  nought 
of  this  to  Dutton. 

"  Of  course  I'm  not  going  to  lose  a  cent,"  he 
said,  "  and  neither  are  you.  I  don't  know  what  it's 
all  about,  but  we're  both  going  to  get  all  that  belongs 
to  us." 

"  In  another  season  I'll  be  all  right,  an'  I'll  pay 
ye,  Dodd,"  Dutton  persisted,  excitedly  grabbing 
Dodd's  hand.  "  You  was  good  to  me,  an'  I  wouldn't 
have  ye  lose  a  cent  fer  a  million  dollars.  I'll  pay 
it  all  back,  if  it  takes  ten  year." 

"  Who's  talking  of  losing  a  cent  ?  "  demanded 
Dodd,  in  an  effort  to  calm  the  other.  "  I'm  not. 
I  don't  expect  to  lose  anything.  Now,  what's  all 


Dodd   Is  Annoyed  223 

the  fuss  about?  Tie  up  your  horse,  and  then  tell 
me  what's  wrong." 

Button  was  almost  hysterical,  and  kept  repeat- 
ing, "  You  ain't  goin'  to  lose  a  cent,  Dodd !  "  but 
Dodd  finally  got  him  settled  on  a  log  beside  the 
carriage-shed,  and  then  induced  him  to  explain  him- 
self. His  story  was  that  he  had  shipped  his  apples 
to  market,  as  he  had  planned  when  he  made  the 
loan,  but  there  had  been  some  delay  about  paying 
for  them.  It  had  been  the  understanding  that  the 
commission  man  would  take  them  at  the  market 
price  for  that  grade,  but  Dutton  did  not  have  this 
definitely  in  writing,  and,  besides,  the  question  of 
their  condition  when  received  had  to  be  left  to  the 
purchaser.  Most  of  the  fruit-growers  had  the  feel- 
ing that  they  frequently  got  very  much  the  worst 
of  the  deal  in  this  way,  and  shipments  had  been 
known  to  be  refused  and  allowed  to  spoil.  In  this 
particular  case,  Dutton  had  finally  become  so  nerv- 
ous over  the  delay,  having  understood  that  he  was 
to  have  an  immediate  remittance,  that  he  had  drawn 
on  the  commission  man,  and  the  draft  had  been 
allowed  to  go  to  protest.  • 

"  He  kep'  the  apples,"  wailed  Dutton,  "  an'  he 
didn't  tell  me  anything  was  wrong  with  'em  or  that 
he  wouldn't  take  'em,  so's  I  could  have  a  chance  to 
try  some  one  else;  he  didn't  do  a  thing  but  refuse 


224  Delightful  Dodd 

to  pay  my  draft,  an'  I  don't  know  yet  what's  the 
matter  with  'em." 

"  Oh,  he'll  have  to  pay  something  for  them,"  said 
Dodd,  consolingly.  "  He  can't  keep  the  apples  and 
refuse  to  pay  anything." 

"  But  what'll  he  pay?  an'  when?  "  asked  Button. 
"  He  knows  I'm  hard  up  an'  have  got  to  have  money 
mighty  soon.  I  ain't  got  time  to  make  a  fight;  I 
got  to  take  what  he  offers,  an'  it  looks  like  he  was 
puttin'  me  where  he  could  say  them  apples  steamed 
an'  offer  less  'n  half  what  they're  worth,  an'  make 
me  like  it.  I'm  lookin'  to  git  word  from  him/  Take 
this  or  fight ! '  an'  '  this  '  won't  be  enough  to  pay 
the  note,  let  alone  leavin'  a  margin  I  got  to  have. 
He's  gone  in  to  rob  me,  deliberate." 

"  It  doesn't  look  just  right,"  admitted  Dodd, 
"  but  you  may  be  mistaken.  Drafts  come  at  mighty 
inconvenient  times  to  even  the  best  of  concerns  oc- 
casionally, but  he  certainly  ought  to  explain  it. 
Have  you  telegraphed  him  ?  " 

"  That's  why  I  come  to  see  ye,"  said  Dutton, 
drawing  a  sheet  of  foolscap  from  his  pocket.  "  I 
been  tryin'  to  telegraph  him,  but  it  costs  most  too 
much,  an'  I  thought  you,  bein'  a  business  man  once, 
could  fix  it  up.  I  got  to  let  him  know  it's  impor- 
tant." 


Dodd  Is  Annoyed  225 

"  Yes,"  admitted  Dodd,  "  you've  got  to  let  him 
know  it's  important." 

"  An'  I  got  to  be  nice  to  him." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Dodd.  "  Has  he  been  clever  to 
you?" 

"  Well,  no,  but  I  may  want  to  do  business  with 
him  ag'in." 

"  Not  if  he's  the  kind  of  a  man  you  think  he  is," 
said  Dodd. 

"  I  want  to  show  him  that  I  ain't  tryin'  to  be 
mean,  only  I  got  to  do  it,"  persisted  Dutton.  "  If 
I  make  him  mad,  he  won't  pay  —  not  now,  anyhow." 

"  If  you  apologize  to  him  when  he  refuses  a 
draft,"  retorted  Dodd,  "  he'll  think  you're  easy. 
There  are  times  for  conciliation  and  times  for  indig- 
nation. Let's  see  your  telegram." 

Dutton  handed  it  to  Dodd,  and  Dodd  read  it 
carefully.  It  was  a  letter  rather  than  a  telegram  — 
a  letter  of  explanation  and  apology.  It  recalled  the 
understanding  upon  which  the  apples  had  been 
shipped,  referred  to  a  conversation  and  a  previous 
letter,  gave  the  date  of  shipment  and  of  an  unan- 
swered letter  of  inquiry,  explained  the  necessity  for 
realizing  on  the  shipment  promptly  to  meet  other 
obligations,  and  hoped  that  payment  of  the  draft 
had  been  refused  under  a  misapprehension. 


226  Delightful   Dodd 

"  That  covers  the  ground,  it  seems  to  me/'  said 
Button,  anxiously. 

"  It  covers  the  ground,"  admitted  Dodd,  "  but 
with  a  useless  waste  of  words." 

"  I  thought  you  could  condense  it,"  said  Button, 
hopefully.  "  But  I  want  him  to  understand." 

"  Quite  right,"  returned  Bodd.  "  It  is  important 
that  he  should  understand,  and,  as  I  am  considerably 
interested  in  this  matter  myself,  I  would  like  to  have 
you  send  my  revision  of  this  remarkable  despatch." 

"  I'll  do  it,"  said  Button. 

Bodd  tore  a  strip  off  the  bottom  of  the  sheet  of 
foolscap,  threw  the  rest  away,  and  then  wrote  on 
the  strip :  "  Why  in  hell  don't  you  honour  my 
draft?" 

"  Sign  that  and  send  it,"  said  Bodd,  "  and  I  think 
he  will  understand." 

Button  gasped. 

"  I  don't  dare,"  he  said. 

"  You  promised,"  said  Bodd. 

"  It'll  make  him  mad,"  urged  Button. 

"  It  will  make  him  think  you're  mad,"  returned 
Bodd,  "  and  it's  time  to  make  him  think  so.  There's 
no  use  being  ugly,  you  know,"  he  added,  with  his 
whimsical  smile,  "but  a  little  convincing  earnest- 
ness is  not  out  of  place.  And  you  want  him  to  un- 
derstand." 


Dodd  Is  Annoyed  227 

Button  was  undecided,  but  when  he  looked  at 
Dodd,  the  latter  merely  said,  "  I  mean  it.  Send 
that  message  just  as  it  stands." 

"All  right,"  returned  Button,  although  he  still 
shook  his  head  doubtfully.  "  I  guess  I  got  to  do 
wfiat  you  say." 

For  some  time  after  Button  had  left,  Bodd  re- 
mained seated  on  the  log,  thinking  the  matter  over. 
It  would  be  very  inconvenient  to  have  that  note 
presented  to  him  for  payment,  and  it  would  be  very 
awkward  to  have  to  explain  to  Mrs.  Bodd,  for  he 
had  promised  her  not  to  entangle  himself  financially 
for  any  one,  especially  while  his  own  affairs  were 
in  such  unsatisfactory  condition.  And  now  — 

He  got  up  with  a  sigh,  and  made  his  way  to  the 
nearest  orchard.  He  had  done  all  that  he  could  do 
in  the  matter,  and  he  might  as  well  give  his  atten- 
tion to  less  distressing  subjects.  All  in  all,  things 
did  not  seem  to  be  going  very  well  with  him  that 
day. 

Even  when  he  went  to  the  house  a  little  later, 
there  was  something  to  vex  him.  As  usual,  he 
had  his  pockets  full  of  apples.  In  the  fruit  season 
Bodd  always  appeared  with  fruit  of  one  kind  or 
another  in  his  pockets.  He  gathered  whatever  was 
just  ripening,  and  brought  it  to  the  house  for  in- 
spection. The  apples  he  brought  in  now  he  regarded 


228  Delightful   Dodd 

as  prize  specimens,  and  he  carefully  deposited  them 
on  a  table  in  the  sitting-room,  whereupon  Mrs. 
Dodd  promptly  swooped  down  upon  him. 

"  Take  those  right  up,"  she  ordered,  and  he 
meekly  obeyed.  Then  she  took  the  embroidered 
table-cover  off,  and  folded  it  up.  "  I  don't  know 
what's  the  matter  with  that  girl,"  she  remarked. 
"  I've  told  her  dozens  of  times  that  we  can't  have 
table-covers  anywhere  in  the  house  during  the  fruit 
season,  for  Dan'l  always  has  his  pockets  full,  and 
he  empties  them  wherever  he  happens  to  be." 

Dodd  deposited  his  apples  on  the  bare  table, 
looked  after  the  retreating  form  of  his  wife,  and 
remarked,  "  I  like  to  have  things  neat,  but  some 
women  will  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  saw- 
mill." Then  the  twinkle  reappeared  in  his  eyes, 
and  he  laughed  silently.  "  Things  have  gone  a  little 
wrong  to-day,  but  I  suppose  we  ought  not  to  expect 
to  have  it  as  easy  as  they  do  at  Beaver  Island." 

"  Do  they  have  such  an  easy  time  there  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Congrove,  who  had  been  reading  in  the  room 
when  the  little  scene  was  enacted. 

"  Pretty  easy,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Beaver  Island  is 
the  place  where  wrecks  are  most  frequent,  and  the 
people  there  get  their  living  from  the  wreckage, 
grain  vessels  in  distress  being  especially  welcome. 


Dodd  Is  Annoyed  229 

We  were  discussing  crops  one  day  when  a  Beaver 
Island  man  joined  in. 

"  '  The  Lord  is  good  to  us  over  on  Beaver  Island/ 
he  said,  devoutly.  '  He  not  only  sends  us  corn,  but 
He  sends  it  shelled.' 

"  It  took  some  of  us  a  little  time  to  figure  the 
thing  out,  but  we  got  there  at  last.  Things  don't 
come  to  us  as  easy  here,  but  I  guess  they  don't  come 
to  them  as  easy  there  as  they  used  to,  either.  We're 
drifting  away  from  the  simple  life." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed,"  returned  Dodd,  solemnly. 
"  Why,  when  we  first  came  here  there  was  an  old 
woman  a  few  miles  down  the  road  who  beat  any- 
thing I  ever  knew  for  simplicity.  She  was  always 
doctoring  people  in  the  very  simplest  ways,  and  her 
rules  were  simple,  too." 

"  What  were  some  of  them  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Con- 
grove.  "I've  always  thought  the  modern  schools 
of  medicine  put  us  to  a  lot  of  unnecessary  trouble." 

"  No  doubt  about  it  at  all,"  replied  Dodd.  "  Now, 
this  old  woman  used  to  depend  a  great  deal  upon 
such  a  trifling  and  common  thing  as  the  bark  of  the 
slippery  elm." 

"For  what?" 

"  Oh,  either  as  an  emetic  or  a  physic,"  said  Dodd. 
"  Her  instructions  were  to  peel  it  up  if  it  was  to  be 


230  Delightful  Dodd 

used  as  an  emetic,  and  down  for  a  physic."  Then, 
regretfully,  "  Things  are  so  much  more  complicated 
and  expensive  these  days.  That's  just  one  illustra- 
tion of  her  simple  methods.  And  I  knew  of  a  case 
of  an  old  soldier  who  demanded  the  music  of  the 
fife  and  drum  while  his  leg  was  being  amputated. 
That  was  a  sufficient  anaesthetic  for  him." 

"  Truly,  we  are  departing  from  the  simple  life," 
laughed  Mrs.  Congrove.  "  Music  would  never  an- 
swer that  purpose  now." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  returned  Dodd,  gravely. 
"  That  would  depend  on  the  music.  I've  heard  some 
that  would  make  the  agony  of  the  amputation  of  a 
leg  seem  insignificant  by  comparison.  The  music 
would  hurt  so  that  you  wouldn't  have  time  to  think 
of  the  leg." 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

A   TIP    FROM    DAKE    WAKELEY 

DAKE  WAKELEY  did  a  remarkable  thing,  —  so 
remarkable  that  he  was  surprised  at  himself.  In 
all  the  time  he  had  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Old 
Mission,  no  one  could  recall  that  he  ever  had  gone 
out  of  his  way  to  do  a  favour.  But  now  Dake 
tramped  four  miles  through  the  woods  to  tell  Dodd 
something  that  he  ought  to  know.  However,  there 
were  a  great  many  people  who  would  do  more  for 
Dodd  than  for  any  one  else,  and  in  after  years  Dodd 
occasionally  mentioned  this  unprecedented  act  of 
Dake's  as  an  answer  to  the  criticisms  by  Mrs.  Dodd. 

"  You  never  can  tell,"  Dodd  would  say,  "  whether 
you're  doing  a  foolishly  generous  thing  or  merely 

making  an  investment.     You  remember  how  easy 

231 


232  Delightful  Dodd 

I  was  with  Wakeley,  when  I  let  myself  get  the 
worst  of  it,  and  you  remember  what  it  paid." 

Then  Mrs.  Dodd,  although  still  holding  that 
Dodd  was  frequently  unjust  to  himself  in  his  con- 
sideration for  others,  would  smile  at  him  affection- 
ately and  let  him  have  his  own  way.  For  Dake 
had  broken  all  records  by  walking  four  miles  to 
do  Dodd  a  good  turn. 

"  I  don't  feel  jest  right  'bout  that  five-dollar 
deal,"  announced  Dake,  upon  his  arrival  at  the 
Dodd  farm. 

"  Neither  do  I,"  returned  Dodd,  "  but  I  didn't 
think  it  would  bother  you." 

"  No,"  said  Dake,  apparently  missing  the  point 
of  this,  "  it  looks  like  I  got  the  worst  of  it." 

"  You  got  the  worst  of  it !  "  exclaimed  Dodd,  in 
astonishment.  "  Say,  Dake,  did  you  ever  get  the 
best  of  anything?  " 

"  Never,"  replied  Dake,  promptly.  "  I'm  the 
most  unluckiest  feller  that  ever  lived.  That  there 
court  business  cost  me  sixty-five  dollars." 

While  Dodd  had  always  held  that  Dake  Wakeley 
was  perfectly  honest  in  his  contention,  merely  being 
blinded  by  miserly  self-interest,  this  calm  assertion 
fairly  took  his  breath  away. 

"  If  I  gave  you  outright  the  ground  your  cabin 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley      233 

stands  on,"  remarked  Dodd,  finally,  "  I  suppose 
there  would  still  be  something  to  kick  about." 

"  Well,"  admitted  Dake,  "  it  would  seem  sorter 
mean  not  to  throw  in  the  garden.  But  you  ain't  so 
bad  as  some,  Dodd,"  he  added,  flatteringly.  "  Some 
folks,  bein'  in  your  place,  would  have  kicked  me 
off  when  we  got  riled  up  over  that  there  timber 
deal.  Some  folks  would  have  been  that  mad  that 
they'd  go  out  for  revenge  when  they  had  to  put  up 
any  cash.  I  give  you  credit,  Dodd,  fer  payin'  up 
like  a  man.  Course  you  had  the  best  of  it,  but 
there's  lots  would  get  mad  jest  the  same,  s'  long  's 
the  jedge  didn't  give  'em  every  bit  they  claimed. 
An'  I  got  thinkin'  it  over,  Dodd,  an'  I  see  how  you 
could  get  even  with  me  if  you  felt  like  to  be  mean, 
an'  you  didn't  do  it,  but  paid  right  up  cheerful,  so 
I  says  to  myself,  '  He's  honest,  anyhow :  he  thinks 
he's  right  an'  he  ain't  tryin'  to  beat  me.' ' 

"Oh,  I'm  honest,"  remarked  Dodd. 

"  Looks  like  that  to  me,"  returned  Dake. 
"  Course  it  ain't  so  hard  to  be  honest  when  you  got 
the  best  of  it,  anyhow,  but  I  can't  help  thinkin'  how 
mean  some  folks  would  be,  havin'  your  power,  so 
I  says,  '  Dodd's  all  right,'  an'  here  I  am." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want  ?  "  asked  Dodd. 

"  I  want  to  show  you  that  I  don't  cherish  no 


234  Delightful  Dodd 

hard  feelin's  fer  the  way  you  beat  me  out,  so  I  come 
to  say  that  there's  folks  livin'  in  your  cottage." 

"  Oh,  the  Indians  may  have  put  up  there  for  a 
night,"  returned  Dodd,  "  although  it's  strange  they 
should  do  so  without  coming  to  me  first,"  he  added, 
thoughtfully.  "  They've  never  used  the  cottage  but 
twice,  when  driven  there  by  storms,  and  both  times 
with  my  knowledge  and  consent.  There's  been  no 
storm  to  drive  them  there  lately,  either." 

"  They  ain't  Injuns,"  asserted  Wakeley,  "  an'  I 
seen  'em  there  two  times.  I  was  goin'  by  last  night 
an'  they  had  a  light  in  the  big  room." 

"  Up  here,"  remarked  Dodd,  "I've  found  people 
who  are  pretty  free  with  other  people's  property, 
but  the  white  man  isn't  as  careful  as  the  Indian, 
and  white  strangers  are  a  big  risk.  They  might 
set  fire  to  the  place.  Are  they  there  now,  Dake  ?  " 

"  I  come  that  way  to  see,"  replied  Dake,  "  an' 
I  cut  into  the  woods  to  the  side  when  I  come  by. 
There  was  a  feller  sittin'  on  the  steps,  smokin'  a 
pipe." 

"  All  right,  Dake.  Much  obliged  to  you,"  said 
Dodd.  "  I'll  go  down  and  see  about  it.  It's  most 
likely  a  camping-party  from  the  other  side  of  the 
bay  that  has  stopped  over  for  a  day  or  two  to  fish. 
But  they  might  be  courteous  enough  to  look  me 
up." 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley      235 

Dodd  leisurely  sauntered  down  the  road  leading 
to  the  bay,  and  presently  turned  into  the  path  that 
made  a  short  cut  to  Terrace  Cottage. 

"  Some  day,"  he  mused,  "  some  neighbour  will 
want  to  borrow  that  cottage,  and  will  ask  me  to 
take  it  over  and  bring  it  back." 

Dodd  had  no  thought  except  that  some  camping 
or  fishing  party  was  making  free  with  his  property, 
and  he  had  no  objection  so  long  as  he  was  assured 
that  they  would  take  proper  care  of  it.  Conse- 
quently, he  made  no  attempt  to  approach  by  stealth, 
but  took  the  direct  route  to  the  cottage.  There  was 
no  one  on  the  porch  when  he  came  in  sight  of  it, 
but  a  man's  coat,  thrown  carelessly  on  one  of  the 
steps,  showed  that  some  one  had  been  there  and 
that  he  probably  would  be  back.  The  porch  was 
small  and  did  not  face  the  bay,  that  being  to  one 
side  of  the  house,  so  Dodd  came  up  to  it  without 
getting  in  sight  of  the  shore,  which  proved  to  be 
fortunate.  He  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  him- 
self until  he  saw  a  white  cloth  mask  lying  beside 
the  coat.  Then  it  suddenly  dawned  upon  him  that 
this  was  a  serious  matter,  and  he  stopped  short. 
If  there  was  any  one  in  the  house,  it  was  too  late 
for  him  to  retreat,  for  he  was  in  plain  view  from 
the  front  windows.  There  were  no  signs  of  life, 
however,  and  he  could  see  that  the  front  room  was 


236  Delightful  Dodd 

empty,  so  he  retired  a  little,  and  made  a  circuit 
among  the  trees  to  the  barn  in  the  rear.  There  he 
came  upon  a  lot  of  chicken  feathers. 

"  One  mystery  is  solved,"  he  mused,  as  he  recalled 
the  neighbours'  complaints  of  thefts. 

From  the  middle  terrace,  on  which  the  house 
rested,  there  was  a  steep  descent  to  the  lower  ter- 
race, which  had  a  width  of  about  two  hundred  yards 
before  reaching  the  water.  A  rustic  stairway,  to 
the  west  of  the  cottage,  reached  a  path  on  the  lower 
terrace,  and  the  path  led  to  the  water's  edge.  Dodd 
moved  forward  cautiously  to  a  point  near  this  stair- 
way, which  gave  him  a  view  of  the  path  and  the 
bay  beyond,  the  shore  view  being  cut  off  by  the 
great  trees  everywhere  else.  On  the  terrace  below 
he  could  see  a  man,  without  his  coat,  leisurely  fol- 
lowing the  path  to  the  bay,  and  far  out  over  the 
bay  a  sailboat  was  approaching. 

"  Those  Elk  Rapids  bandits  stole  a  sailboat  when 
they  escaped,"  thought  Dodd. 

He  crept  back,  around  the  rear  of  the  house, 
to  the  shelter  of  the  trees  to  the  west,  and  paused 
a  moment  to  decide  what  he  should  do.  These 
men,  he  decided,  were  the  bandits  for  whom  the 
authorities  had  been  seeking,  and  for  whose  cap- 
ture a  reward  of  $2,000  had  been  offered.  They 
were  held  to  be  responsible  for  a  number  of  daring 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley      237 

robberies  at  Traverse  City,  and  for  innumerable 
minor  depredations  along  nearly  the  whole  length 
of  Grand  Traverse  Bay.  The  boat  gave  the  secret 
of  their  method  of  foraging;  the$*  were  pirates 
rather  than  bandits.  While  the  east  side  of  the 
peninsula  was  being  searched  for  them  after  the 
Elk  Rapids  affair,  they  unquestionably  had  rounded 
the  point  and  temporarily  secluded  themselves  some- 
where on  the  west  bay.  They  could  not  have  been 
at  Terrace  Cottage  all  the  time,  but  they  might 
easily  have  made  it  their  headquarters  and  have 
spent  considerable  time  there,  especially  at  night. 
No  one  ever  came  that  way  at  night,  and  it  was 
probable  that  no  one  had  been  above  the.  first  floor, 
either  day  or  night,  since  Miss  Marsden  explored 
the  place  early  in  the  summer.  It  was  quite  pos- 
sible that  there  was  booty  stored  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  house. 

"  Well,"  thought  Dodd,  "  pretty  nearly  every- 
body else  has  taken  liberties  with  the  cottage.  It 
only  needed  this  to  make  the  list  complete.  But 
perhaps  I'll  get  a  little  money  out  of  it  this  time 
if  they'll  stay  here  a  little  longer." 

He  started  back  through  the  woods  at  unusual 
speed  for  him,  for  he  was  ordinarily  most  delib- 
erate in  his  actions.  It  was  probable,  he  thought, 
that  the  boat  was  returning  from  another  raid. 


238  Delightful  Dodd 

In  any  event,  it  was  practically  certain  that  quick 
action  by  the  authorities  would  enable  them  to  catch 
the  whole  gang,  and  the  reward  — 

"  I  could  use  that,"  said  Dodd,  as  he  hurried 
along.  "  It  would  clean  things  up  and  give  me 
a  start  on  next  season  that  would  enable  me  to 
forge  ahead,  —  that  is,  if  I  turn  it  over  to  Mrs. 
Dodd.  I  never  could  keep  anything  of  my  own 
myself,  although  I  guess  I've  been  pretty  careful 
of  other  people's  property  and  affairs." 

Which  was  true.  Dodd  was  one  of  those  strange 
contradictions  sometimes  found,  —  careless  and  im- 
pulsive in  the  management  of  his  own  finances,  but 
cold,  cautious,  and  resourceful  in  handling  the 
affairs  of  others. 

At  the  barn  he  hastily  hitched  a  horse  to  a  cart, 
and,  calling  Leonard  in  from  the  field,  started  with 
him  for  Old  Mission.  He  wanted  company.  After 
the  dull  uneventfulness  of  peninsula  life,  this  un- 
expected sensation  seemed  to  make  it  necessary  that 
he  should  have  some  one  with  whom  to  discuss  it. 

"  I've  found  the  bandits,"  he  announced,  briefly, 
as  they  drove  along. 

"What!"  cried  Leonard. 

"  They're  at  Terrace  Cottage,"  explained  Dodd. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  let's  get  them ! "  urged 
Leonard,  thoughtlessly. 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley       239 

"  Of  course,"  said  Dodd,  "  but  don't  let's  let  them 
get  us.  There's  no  reward  for  being  killed  or  cap- 
tured by  them." 

"  But  the  men  on  the  farm ! "  persisted  Leonard. 
"  We  could  muster  a  dozen  altogether." 

"  With  one  old  shotgun,  a  few  pitchforks,  and 
perhaps  a  revolver  or  two,"  said  Dodd.  "  I  haven't 
got  anything  but  a  shotgun,  and  I  don't  think 
you  could  find  more  than  two  pistols  among  the 
men.  We  don't  go  much  on  firearms  up  here." 

"  You're  right,  of  course,"  returned  Leonard, 
cooling  down.  "  It  looked  like  such  a  fine  thing 
to  round  up  those  fellows  that  I  let  my  enthusiasm 
run  away  with  me.  I  was  thinking  of  the  reward, 
too.  You  ought  to  get  that,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  That  goes  to  the  man  who  furnishes  the  au- 
thorities with  information  that  leads  to  their  arrest, 
with  $200  for  the  capture  of  any  individual  member 
alone,"  explained  Dodd.  "  Anyhow,  I'm  getting 
old  enough  so  that  I'd  a  little  rather  let  the  police 
or  the  deputies  do  the  fighting.  I  never  was  much 
of  a  fighting  man,  anyway,"  he  added,  drifting  into 
one  of  his  musings,  "  although  I  can  see  its  advan- 
tage to  the  general  public." 

"  I  don't  see  where  that  comes  in,"  retorted 
Leonard.  "  Speaking  generally,  and  putting  aside 


240  Delightful  Dodd 

specific  instances,  what  does  fighting  do  for  the 
general  public  ?  " 

"  It  educates  it,"  replied  Dodd.  "  War  is  a  great 
educator.  What  did  you  know  about  the  Philip- 
pines before  the  war  with  Spain?" 

"  Mighty  little,"   admitted  Leonard. 

"  What  did  you  know  of  Manchuria  before  war 
was  declared  between  Japan  and  Russia?" 

"  Practically  nothing." 

"  It  takes  war  to  make  you  study  geography," 
said  Dodd ;  "  it  takes  war  to  teach  you  where  the 
things  you  use  come  from.  The  price  of  something 
goes  up,  and  you  ask  why.  '  War/  says  the  dealer. 
'  Thunder  and  guns ! '  you  exclaim,  '  I  didn't  know 
we  got  that  from  the  war  zone.'  You  find  that 
you  have  a  personal  interest  in  that  war,  while  you 
previously  thought  you  were  nothing  but  an  idle 
spectator;  you  begin  to  look  things  up  and  do  a 
little  thinking  on  your  own  account.  You  find  that 
you  have  more  ties  than  you  ever  supposed,  and 
that  what  affects  your  brother  in  some  far-off  land 
indirectly  affects  you.  Then  some  products  of  your 
own  country  go  up,  and  you  are  told  that  some 
belligerent  is  buying  for  its  armies  and  decreasing 
the  visible  supply,  so  you  are  moved  to  give  a  little 
consideration  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
Thus  you  have  learned  something  about  the  people, 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley       241 

the  geography,  the  products,  and  the  needs  of  some 
country  or  countries  to  which  you  had  previously 
given  no  thought,  and  of  the  influence  of  that  coun- 
try's course  upon  your  own  life.  It  makes  you 
study.  I  don't  advocate  war,  but  it's  a  great 
teacher." 

"  Well,"  returned  Leonard,  "  that  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  little  question  of  fighting  that  we  have 
on  hand  now.  I  wonder  if  they  will  get  those 
fellows  without  loss  of  life.  Say,  it's  lucky  that 
no  one  has  been  to  the  cottage  recently,  isn't  it?" 

"Perhaps,"  said  Dodd,  "but  I  have  an  idea 
they  have  been  there  only  occasionally  at  night, 
and,  if  they  have  stored  any  booty  there,  it's  prob- 
ably up  in  the  attic.  Very  likely  we  could  have 
gone  there  almost  any  day  without  noticing  any- 
thing wrong,  unless  we  happened  to  run  on  the 
feathers  back  of  the  kitchen.  Do  you  think,"  he 
asked,  thoughtfully,  "  that  Dake  Wakeley  is  en- 
titled to  part  of  this  reward,  if  I  get  it?" 

"  Certainly  not,"  answered  Leonard.  "  Dake 
gave  you  notice  of  some  trespassing  on  your  prop- 
erty, but  he  did  not  discover  the  bandits,  and  he 
did  not  notify  the  authorities  or  assist  in  their  cap- 
ture. Now,  Mr.  Dodd,"  Leonard  went  on,  more 
earnestly,  "  if  you're  going  to  hunt  for  an  excuse 
to  give  away  what  is  rightfully  yours,  I'm  going 


242  Delightful  Dodd 

to  report  the  matter  to  Mrs.  Dodd,  and  see  that 
she  takes  charge  of  the  cash." 

Dodd  laughed. 

"  You  have  discovered  the  only  person  I'm  afraid 
of,"  he  said.  "  I  think  perhaps  I'd  better  get  the 
reward  before  I  dispose  of  it.  I  believe  even  Mrs. 
Dodd  would  commend  that  course.  At  any  rate,  I 
know  she  wouldn't  let  me  spend  the  $2,000  I  made 
by  raising  the  price  of  my  farm,  and  I  had  to  admit 
that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  sense  in  the  argu- 
ments she  used." 

"What  were  they?" 

"  Why,  she  pointed  out  that  I  couldn't  spend  it 
because  I  didn't  have  it,  which  seemed  to  me,  on 
mature  reflection,  a  very  reasonable  view." 

At  Old  Mission,  Dodd  decided,  after  advising 
with  Leonard,  to  call  up  Traverse  City  by  telephone. 
He  had  intended  to  merely  report  the  facts  to  the 
Old  Mission  authorities,  but  Leonard  insisted  that 
they  could  do  nothing,  and  probably  would  them- 
selves report  the  matter  to  Traverse  City.  Old 
Mission  was  too  small  to  boast  of  a  police  force, 
and  its  sole  reliance  in  such  a  case  would  have  to 
be  on  a  posse  of  farmers,  while  Traverse  could  send 
officers  in  a  steamer  or  a  launch. 

"  We  might  as  well  have  taken  our  own  men 
and  tried  to  capture  them  as  to  turn  the  thing  over 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley      243 

to  any  one  at  Old  Mission,"  Leonard  urged,  "  and, 
to  avoid  complications  in  the  matter  of  the  reward, 
you  want  to  report  it  to  headquarters  yourself. 
The  reward  was  offered  from  Traverse  City,  and 
that's  where  these  fellows  will  have  to  be  taken 
if  captured." 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  admitted  Dodd.  "  I 
don't  want  them  to  have  time  to  escape,  but  men 
can  get  out  from  Traverse  pretty  quick,  even  if  they 
have  to  come  by  boat  to  Neahtawanta  and  drive 
over.  I'll  try  it  that  way." 

The  officials  at  Traverse  City  were  greatly  ex- 
cited by  the  news  that  Dodd  gave  them,  the  more 
so  because  there  had  been  some  bold  depredations  on 
the  west  peninsula  the  night  before,  —  the  penin- 
sula from  which  Dodd  had  seen  the  sailboat  coming, 
—  and  they  promised  that  a  strong  detail  of  men 
would  be  sent  down  immediately.  Coached  by 
Leonard,  Dodd  cautioned  them  to  send  a  launch, 
so  that  the  sailboat  could  be  overtaken  in  case  of 
flight,  but  to  have  the  party  landed  from  the  launch 
some  distance  south  of  the  cottage,  as  any  attempt 
to  land  near  it  would  alarm  the  men  sought. 

"  We'll  send  a  small  party  by  launch  to  cut  off 
escape  by  water,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  a  larger 
party  will  be  landed  at  Neahtawanta,  and  go  on 


244  Delightful   Dodd 

from  there  by  land,  to  make  the  capture  if  pos- 
sible." 

On  the  way  back  to  the  farm,  Dodd  and  Leonard 
were  too  much  engrossed  in  the  near  approach  of 
what  promised  to  be  a  thrilling  adventure  to  wan- 
der into  the  amusing  and  interesting  little  verbal 
byways  ordinarily  so  favoured  by  Dodd.  They  dis- 
cussed various  ways  of  approaching  and  surround- 
ing the  cottage  and  of  surprising  its  possible  in- 
mates. There  was  a  shed  door,  according  to  Dodd, 
that  could  be  reached  with  little  chance  of  being  ob- 
served from  any  of  the  windows,  provided  no  one 
was  in  the  kitchen,  and  the  door  from  this  shed 
to  the  kitchen  could  be  broken  down  easily,  if  found 
to  be  locked.  But  Dodd  believed  it  would  be  open. 

Leaving  Dodd  to  put  up  the  horse,  when  they 
reached  the  farm,  Leonard  wandered  to  the  front 
of  the  house,  to  pass  the  time  as  best  he  could  in 
his  excited  state  until  the  arrival  of  the  officers. 
Mrs.  Congrove  looked  up  from  a  book,  as  he  ap- 
peared, and  nodded  to  him  pleasantly. 

"  You  see  I  am  left  alone,"  she  said.  "  Jessie 
is  too  strenuous  for  me.  She  has  gone  down  to  say 
good-bye  to  the  cottage  before  we  —  " 

11  The  cottage !  "  exclaimed  Leonard,  startled. 

"  Why,  yes.  She  went  down  there  about  the 
time  you  started  away  with  Mr.  Dodd." 


A  Tip  from  Dake  Wakeley       245 

Leonard  darted  back  to  the  barn,  his  face  white 
and  haggard  in  an  instant. 

"  Dodd !  Dodd !  "  he  cried.  "  Miss  Marsden  is 
at  the  cottage !  Went  down  an  hour  ago !  " 

Then  he  turned  and  made  for  the  road  to  the 
bay.  Dodd,  who  was  leading  the  horse  into  the 
barn,  dropped  the  halter,  and  started  after  Leonard 
at  a  surprising  pace.  Passing  the  building  in  which 
his  "  office "  was  located,  he  paused  just  long 
enough  to  get  an  old  shotgun,  and  then  continued 
toward  the  bay,  followed  closely  by  Ackerman, 
who  appeared  just  in  time  to  see  Dodd  running 
down  the  hill  with  a  gun.  Ackerman  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  nature  of  the  trouble,  but  it  was  enough 
for  him  to  know  that  there  was  trouble  somewhere. 

Part  way  down  the  hill  Leonard  met  three  In- 
dian bucks  and  three  squaws  slowly  plodding  up, 
and  it  flashed  across  his  mind  that  they  might  prove 
their  devotion  and  gratitude  to  Dodd  in  this  emer- 
gency. An  Indian  ought  to  be  able  to  fight,  and  his 
presence  certainly  would  disconcert  any  ordinary 
lawbreaker. 

"  Robbers  in  the  cottage ! "  he  said,  stopping  in 
front  of  them.  "  Dodd's  cottage !  Come  and  drive 
them  out!" 

The  Indians  looked  at  him  blankly,  and  then  at 
each  other,  but  made  no  movement. 


246  Delightful  Dodd 

"  White  woman  in  danger !  "  he  cried,  desper- 
ately. "Help  free  her!" 

The  Indians  merely  grunted,  and,  with  an  excla- 
mation of  anger,  Leonard  was  starting  on,  when 
Dodd  caught  up. 

"  Big  John ! "  gasped  the  breathless  Dodd. 
"Fight!  Forme!" 

Then  Dodd  darted  from  the  road  into  the  path 
that  made  a  short  cut  to  the  cottage  (which  Leon- 
ard had  momentarily  forgotten),  and  the  three 
bucks,  led  by  Big  John,  silently  followed,  while  the 
squaws  squatted  in  the  road,  content  to  learn  what 
it  was  all  about  later. 

Leonard  and  Ackerman  plunged  in  after  them, 
and,  in  single  file,  compelled  to  let  Dodd  set  the 
pace  (which  was  not  nearly  fast  enough  for  Leon- 
ard), the  six  made  their  way  by  the  woodland  path 
to  the  point  where  it  joined  the  terrace  road,  when 
Dodd  slackened  his  pace  and  turned  aside,  the  better 
to  approach  the  house  unobserved. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

MISS  MARSDEN'S  ADVENTURE 

Miss  MARSDEN  and  Mrs.  Congrove  were  to  leave 
for  home  in  a  few  days,  and  Miss  Marsden  had  been 
making  farewell  pilgrimages  to  the  many  little 
nooks  that  she  had  discovered  and  enjoyed  during 
her  stay  at  Old  Mission.  She  was  going  back  to 
the  dull  routine  of  life  with  her  aunt  on  the  Carroll 
farm,  and  Jessie  Marsden,  natural  as  it  was  for 
her  to  work,  had  learned  to  hate  farm  drudgery. 
And  the  farm  to  which  she  was  returning  was  far 
different  from  the  farm  she  was  leaving.  The  lat- 
ter was  big  and  beautiful,  and  was  identified  with  a 
restfulness  that  she  had  found  nowhere  else.  How- 
ever, she  told  herself  that  there  was  more  reason 
for  gratitude  than  regret,  for  word  had  been  re- 
ceived that  Mrs.  Congrove's  affairs  were  in  better 
shape  than  had  been  supposed  at  the  time  of  her 
husband's  death.  She  would  have  a  modest  income, 
—  small,  but  still  sufficient  to  make  the  future  no 

longer  the  distressing  problem  it  had  seemed  to  be. 

247 


248  Delightful  Dodd 

This  made  it  possible  to  plan  definitely,  and  they 
had  quickly  settled  on  a  date  for  their  departure. 
Then  Miss  Marsden  had  evolved  a  sentimental 
desire  to  make  a  last  visit  to  all  the  familiar  places, 
—  little  rustic  retreats  to  which  she  had  often  re- 
tired, the  paths  along  which  she  had  strolled  to 
gather  pine-needles  for  the  sofa  pillows  with  which 
she  had  been  busy  much  of  the  time.  Mrs.  Con- 
grove  went  with  her  occasionally,  but  the  places 
had  not  the  same  associations  for  her  that  they  had 
for  her  sister,  for  she  had  given  them  less  attention 
on  previous  visits  and  never  had  stolen  away  to  any 
of  them  alone.  In  fact,  the  natural  beauties  of  the 
place  did  not,  and  could  not,  appeal  to  Mrs.  Con- 
grove  as  they  did  to  Miss  Marsden,  for  the  former's 
thoughts  were  on  other  things,  while  the  latter  was 
experiencing  a  freedom  that  she  never  had  known 
on  the  Carroll  farm,  —  which  was  the  misfortune, 
and  not  the  fault,  of  the  Carrolls.  Mrs.  Congrove, 
too,  had  demanded  less  attention  as  her  strength 
increased  and  the  first  shock  of  her  husband's  death 
wore  away,  had  gradually  taken  her  part  in  the 
quiet  life  of  the  place,  and  had  derived  pleasure 
and  benefit  from  occasional  association  with  others. 
So  Miss  Marsden  had  more  time  to  herself,  and 
now  she  was  going  alone  for  a  last  visit  to  the 
cottage. 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure         249 

On  the  way,  her  thoughts  were  busy  with  Dodd's 
remark,  "  He  isn't  so  bad  as  you  think.  Why,  he 
hasn't  any  money  at  all."  She  laughed  as  she 
thought  of  the  way  he  had  blurted  this  out,  and  of 
his  crestfallen  look  as  he  retired,  but  somehow  the 
statement  had  made  an  impression.  What  did  it 
mean?  Was  it  possible  that  Leonard  was  not  pos- 
ing, but  really  and  earnestly  working?  It  was  a 
foolish  kind  of  work  for  a  man  of  his  training  and 
ability,  but  it  might  be  temporarily  expedient.  If 
not  merely  a  pose,  there  certainly  must  be  some 
good  reason  for  it.  In  any  event,  if  he  were  not 
financially  independent,  it  threw  a  very  different 
light  on  his  action.  But  she  had  understood,  and 
from  him,  that  he  had  an  income  that  left  him  no 
incentive  to  work.  Possibly,  Dodd,  in  his  friend- 
ship, had  undertaken  to  deceive  her,  but  that  was 
not  like  Dodd. 

Speculating  after  this  fashion,  she  turned  into 
the  woodland  path,  and  later  left  that  to  pluck  some 
wild  flowers.  Lured  from  one  to  another,  she  finally 
emerged  from  the  wood  near  the  back  of  the  cottage, 
and  noticed  that  the  door  of  the  shed  was  open. 

"  I'll  go  in  that  way,"  she  said  to  herself. 

Passing  through  the  shed  into  the  kitchen,  she 
discovered  some  evidences  of  recent  occupation  in 
various  scraps  of  food  lying  about,  but  it  did  not 


250  Delightful   Dodd 

disturb  her  in  the  least,  for  she  knew  of  Dodd's 
good-natured  acquiescence  in  the  occasional  use  of 
the  cottage. 

"  He  said  the  Indians  were  neat  and  careful," 
she  commented.  "  I  suppose  this  is  a  man's  idea 
of  neatness." 

The  house  was  not  furnished,  except  for  two  or 
three  old  wooden  chairs,  and  she  found  nothing  but 
these  and  a  blanket  in  the  parlour.  The  blanket, 
however,  made  her  pause.  That  seemed  to  indicate 
that  whoever  had  been  there  was  coming  back,  and 
a  sudden  chill  of  fear  swept  over  her.  She  was 
alone  in  a  deserted  house  in  the  woods.  They  had 
been  so  quiet  and  secluded  at  the  Dodd  farm  that 
no  thought  of  possible  harm  had  ever  come  to  her 
in  any  of  her  rambles  in  the  woods,  but  was  there 
not  danger  now?  Who  might  these  men,  or  this 
man,  be?  She  could  not  say  whether  one  or  more 
had  occupied  the  house,  but  she  would  be  at  his, 
or  their,  mercy  if  caught  there,  and  the  blanket  — 

Jessie  Marsden  was  suddenly  and  unaccountably 
overcome  by  unreasoning  fear.  She,  who  had  en- 
joyed solitude,  was  instantly  almost  panic-stricken 
in  her  loneliness.  She  might  tell  herself  that  it 
was  only  the  Indians,  who  were  held  to  be  harmless 
and  friendly,  or  some  other  to  whom  Dodd  had 
given  the  privilege  of  the  cottage,  but  she  was 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure        251 

afraid,  —  fearfully  and  inexplicably  afraid ;  she 
who  always  had  been  so  self-reliant.  Never  before 
had  she  experienced  such  a  feeling  of  feminine  help- 
lessness. She  rushed  to  the  front  door,  threw  it 
open  —  and  recoiled.  A  man's  coat  and  a  white 
cloth  mask  lay  on  the  steps.  A  mask  evidently  im- 
provised from  a  handkerchief.  It  flashed  upon  her 
that  there  had  been  something  psychological  in  that 
feeling  of  fear;  the  danger  had  impressed  itself 
upon  her  in  spite  of  her  reason.  There  could  be 
no  doubt  now  that  the  cottage  had  been  occupied 
by  desperate  characters,  and  one  at  least  was  still 
in  the  vicinity. 

She  backed  in  and  shut  the  door,  deciding  to 
make  her  escape  through  the  shed;  but,  before  she 
could  turn,  she  heard  voices  outside,  and  knew  that 
some  men  were  coming  up  the  rustic  stairway  from 
the  lower  terrace.  To  add  to  her  alarm,  one  of  the 
men  was  swearing  volubly  and  horribly,  and  the 
glimpse  she  caught  of  them  through  the  west  win- 
dow showed  them  to  be  rough,  brutal-looking  fel- 
lows, whom  any  woman  would  fear  to  meet  alone. 
They  were  so  close  now  that  escape  was  impossible, 
for  she  could  not  leave  by  either  the  front  or  the 
back  way  without  almost  a  certainty  of  being  seen 
before  she  could  get  to  the  shelter  of  the  trees. 
Behind  her  was  a  stairway,  leading  to  the  floor 


252  Delightful   Dodd 

above,  and  up  this  she  went,  her  heart  beating 
wildly,  her  face  white,  and  her  prized  independence 
utterly  gone.  For  once  in  her  life  she  longed  for 
the  protection  of  man. 

Another  narrow  and  steep  stairway  led  to  the 
attic,  and  she  continued  up  this,  fearing  that,  if 
she  did  not  do  it  now,  her  strength  would  fail  her 
when  she  had  to  do  it  later,  in  case  the  men  as- 
cended. In  truth,  Jessie  Marsden  was  close  to  col- 
lapse. She  was  a  strong  girl  in  all  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life,  a  resourceful  girl  in  meeting  the 
problems  of  the  modern  world,  a  brave  girl  in  the 
face  of  hardship  and  misfortune,  but  this  personal 
danger  seemed  so  close  and  so  fearful  to  her  excited 
imagination  that  her  knees  trembled  and  her 
thoughts  came  incoherently.  For  a  moment  she 
could  only  realize  that  she  was  trapped  by  a  gang 
of  vicious  and  desperate  outlaws,  and  that  her  pre- 
dicament could  be  known  to  no  one.  She  was  no 
coward,  but  this  was  her  first  experience  of  physical 
danger,  —  a  danger  that  apparently  no  effort  of 
her  own  could  avert.  But  she  knew  the  need  of 
calmness  and  strength,  and  she  stretched  herself 
prone  on  the  floor,  where  she  had  sunk  down,  and 
forced  herself  to  lie  perfectly  still,  in  an  effort  to 
recover  her  self-possession  and  the  full  control  of 
her  limbs.  She  heard  only  the  confused  murmur 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure        253 

of  voices  below,  and  gradually  she  was  able  to  gain 
mastery  of  the  effects  of  her  fear,  although  not  of 
the  fear  itself.  Then  she  sat  up  and  looked  about 
her.  Two  sacks,  that  seemed  to  contain  plunder 
of  some  sort,  gave  cause  for  further  anxiety.  Here 
was  something  that  might  bring  one  of  them  to  the 
attic  at  any  moment,  and  that  would  mean  her  dis- 
covery. If  she  could  remain  undiscovered  until 
supper-time,  her  absence  then  would  create  uneasi- 
ness. 

"  But  what  will  happen  then  ?  "  she  asked  her- 
self. "  Gracie  knows  I  came  to  the  cottage,  and 
some  one  will  come  to  look  for  me  without  thought 
of  danger.  These  outlaws  won't  let  a  man  who 
locates  them  get  away,  if  they  can  help  it." 

Almost  the  only  possible  hope  of  rescue  might 
itself  lead  to  a  tragedy.  She  crept  to  the  east  win- 
dow and  looked  out,  half-hoping  and  half-fearing 
that  she  might  see  some  one,  but  there  was  no  sign 
of  life  among  the  trees.  It  was  only  a  few  yards 
to  the  shelter  of  the  wood,  and  the  chance  of  ob- 
servation on  that  side  was  slight,  as  the  principal 
rooms  were  on  the  side  toward  the  bay.  It  was 
the  one  point  where  the  house  could  be  approached 
or  left  with  reasonable  hope  of  escaping  discovery. 
But  she  could  not  well  drop  from  a  third-story 


254  Delightful  Dodd 

window.  She  might  risk  it  from  the  second  floor, 
however. 

Jessie  Marsden's  nerve  had  returned.  When  she 
forced  herself  to  lie  quiescent,  with  relaxed  muscles, 
until  she  could  think  connectedly,  she  gained  a  mas- 
tery that  her  will-power  now  enabled  her  to  hold. 
She  was  afraid,  desperately  afraid,  but  she  was  no 
longer  terror-stricken ;  she  would  do  what  she  could 
to  help  herself.  If  she  could  reach  the  second  floor, 
she  would  try  a  drop  from  the  window  and  a  dash 
into  the  woods. 

Back  to  the  stairway  she  crept,  and  listened. 
They  were  still  in  the  main  room  on  the  first  floor, 
their  voices,  except  for  an  occasional  oath,  being 
indistinct.  One  man  was  evidently  angry  about 
something.  It  was  her  chance —  No;  they  were 
coming  up-stairs. 

Scarcely  daring  to  breathe,  she  lay  at  the  top  of 
the  second  stairway,  listening.  Were  they  coming 
all  the  way  up?  or  would  they  stop  on  the  second 
floor?  One  of  them  began  the  ascent  to  the  attic, 
and  her  heart  sank.  She  could  feel  the  weakness 
overcoming  her  again, -as  she  pictured  herself  the 
prisoner  of  these  merciless  brutes.  Then  she  was 
given  a  respite. 

"  Don't  be  in  such  a  damn  hurry !  "  another  of 
the  men  growled.  "  We  ain't  settled  the  thing  yet." 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure        255 

"  It's  settled  for  me !  "  retorted  the  man  on  the 
second  stairway.  "  It's  up  to  me  for  a  getaway 
right  now !  Why,  you  ain't  got  the  sense  of  a  calf ! 
You  tear  up  all  one  side  of  the  bay  when  there 
ain't  no  need  of  it,  an'  then  cross  over  in  a  boat 
that's  stole  an'  bein'  hunted  for,  an'  shoot  right 
in  here  in  broad  daylight.  They  got  us  spotted  now, 
sure!" 

"We  had  to  do  it,"  urged  the  other.  "We 
wanted  to  lie  low  over  there  till  night,  but  things 
was  gettin'  too  hot." 

"Who  made  'em  too  hot!"  exclaimed  the  man 
on  the  stairs,  angrily.  "  You,  with  your  damn 
foolishness.  Why  couldn't  you  go  easy  till  we  was 
ready  to  pull  off  the  big  job?  A  little  snipin'  was 
all  right,  but  it  was  a  fool  trick  to  try  to  make 
a  string  of  little  rough  and  ready  jobs  that  would 
send  every  farmer  for  fifty  miles  after  his  flintlock 
musket,  an'  get  all  the  sheriffs  an'  constables  ex- 
cited. Why,  you ,"  and  he 

characterized  his  companion  in  unprintable  lan- 
guage. 

"  Cut  that  out !  "  exclaimed  the  other.  "  We 
got  in  a  tight  corner  an'  had  to  do  the  best  we  could, 
an'  now  we're  all  goin'  to  make  a  break  for  it  to- 
gether. But  where  to?  That's  what  we  got  to 
settle  now." 


256  Delightful   Dodd 

"  Sure  it  is,"  chimed  in  another  voice.  "  The 
swag  up  there's  in  bags,  to  be  got  any  time,  but 
there's  other  things  to  be  fixed  up.  Anyhow,  the 
loose  things  in  the  front  closet  ought  to  be  took 
out  first." 

The  man  on  the  stairway  apparently  surrendered 
to  this  argument,  for  Miss  Marsden  heard  the  men 
enter  a  room  on  the  second  floor.  She  could  only 
catch  an  occasional  word  as  they  rummaged  in  a 
closet  that  they  had  evidently  used  as  a  storeroom, 
but  she  had  heard  enough  to  show  that  their  ap- 
pearance in  force  in  daylight  was  unpremeditated, 
and  that  they  contemplated  flight  under  cover  of 
darkness.  This  was  reassuring  in  one  way,  but 
not  in  another,  for  one  of  them  would  surely  come 
after  the  two  bags  up  there,  and  the  only  place  to 
hide  was  behind  the  partition  that  shut  in  the  stair- 
way, which  would  afford  no  concealment  unless 
he  happened  to  keep  on  one  side  of  the  attic.  If 
he  would  only  wait  until  dark,  there  might  be  a 
chance,  but  — 

He  was  coming  up  now.  She  shuddered  and  felt 
the  chill  of  despairing  fear  creep  over  her  again. 
Then  came  a  second  respite. 

"  Keep  your  shirt  on,"  growled  the  man  who 
had  interfered  before.  "  Them  things  is  ready,  an' 
these  ain't.  We  got  to  get  these  down  first." 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure         257 

"  Sure,"  said  the  third  voice,  and  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  lower  stairway  some  one  called  :  "  What's 
holdin'  you  up  there?  Bring  that  loose  truck 
down !  " 

"  We  was  stoppin'  to  talk  of  cleanin'  out  old 
man  Dodd  afore  we  quit,"  retorted  one  of  the  men 
on  the  second  floor. 

"  Not  for  me !  "  exclaimed  the  man  below. 

"  Nor  me,"  echoed  several  other  voices  below, 
showing  there  were  at  least  six  or  seven  men  in  the 
party. 

"  Why  not?  "  asked  the  man  above. 

"  Those  two  lads  that  mixed  up  over  to  Elk 
Rapids  is  there,"  was  the  reply.  "  Trie  one  that 
turned  loose  is  bad  enough  for  me,  an'  they  say 
the  other's  worse.  I'll  take  my  chance  with  a  gun 
or  'most  any  man,  but  I  don't  hunt  for  lads  that 
can  turn  me  upside  down  an'  ram  my  head  on  the 
ground  so  quick  I  don't  know  what's  happened. 
Humans  is  all  right,  but  they're  devils,  or  a  lot 
of  lyin'  is  bein'  done." 

"  That's  right,"  chimed  in  another,  "  an'  this  ain't 
the  time  to  butt  into  a  bad  game." 

"  Hate  to  go  away  without  nothin'  to  remember 
the  old  man  by,"  growled  the  first  speaker.  "  It 
don't  look  polite.  Ain't  there  anything  up  there 
you  want  ?  " 


258  Delightful   Dodd 

"  Well,"  replied  the  man  below,  with  a  coarse 
laugh,  "  they  got  some  good-lookin'  women  up 
there,  an'  I  wouldn't  mind  stealin'  one  of  them, 
if  it  was  anyways  safe." 

They  all  laughed  at  this  sally,  and  Miss  Marsden, 
shuddering  again,  heard  the  three  on  the  second 
floor  descending,  with  a  bumping  and  a  clattering 
that  seemed  to  indicate  that  there  were  silver  and 
articles  of  some  bulk  in  the  loot  they  had  collected. 
From  the  bottom  she  heard  the  further  growl :  "  We 
had  to  let  Dodd  alone  first,  'cause  it  would  get 
people  lookin'  for  us  here,  an'  we  got  to  let  him 
alone  now  'cause  he's  got  some  strong-arm  men 
of  his  own.  An'  women  with  jew'lry  there,  too." 

Almost  hopeless  now,  and  with  even  a  greater 
dread  than  before,  she  crept  again  to  the  window. 
Her  second  respite  must  be  about  at  an  end,  and 
the  man  would  surely  come  for  the  two  bags  this 
time.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  drop  from  the 
window,  anyway.  She  might  be  stunned  by  the  fall, 
she  might  break  a  leg  or  an  arm,  but  —  she  might 
escape.  Surely  anything  was  better  than  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  these  miscreants.  She  tried  the 
window,  and  found  that  it  opened  noiselessly.  She 
could  sit  by  it,  and,  as  a  last  resort  — 

A  movement  of  the  underbrush  caught  her  eye 
and  changed  the  current  of  her  thoughts.  For  a 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure         259 

moment  it  seemed  as  if  her  heart  stopped  beating, 
and  then  she  wanted  to  cry  out  in  a  very  delirium 
of  joy.  A  man  was  approaching  cautiously,  and 
behind  him  was  another  and  yet  another.  And  the 
first  man  —  she  realized  on  the  instant  that  it  was 
not  a  man,  but  the  man;  in  that  thrilling,  critical 
moment  she  had  time  to  feel  a  sense  of  elation,  of 
joy,  that  relief  should  come  in  this  form,  with  Ralph 
Leonard  in  the  lead.  Behind  the  first  three  were 
others,  but  she  really  distinguished  and  recognized 
only  the  leader.  He  was  advancing  cautiously,  and 
his  face  —  she  could  read  in  his  face,  not  merely 
the  anxiety  of  a  man  for  a  woman  in  danger,  but 
the  anguish  and  desperation  of  a  lover  who  hopes 
and  fears  and  asks  only  that  he  may  meet  whatever 
threatens,  irrespective  of  the  odds.  The  face  was 
clear  and  distinct,  as  Leonard,  keeping  his  body  as 
much  as  possible  under  cover,  let  his  eyes  sweep 
the  house  and  the  clearing,  until  they  rested  on  the 
face  at  the  upper  window.  Then  there  came  such 
an  expression  of  relief  as  would  have  betrayed  his 
heart  instantly,  even  if  she  had  not  already  read 
it.  But  she  was  as  sure  of  him,  and  of  herself, 
as  if  he  had  spoken  and  she  had  answered ;  it  was 
like  the  passing  of  a  flash  of  light,  but  she  knew. 
She  cautioned  him  to  silence  by  placing  a  finger 
on  her  lips,  and  then  motioned  to  the  rear  of  the 


260  Delightful  Dodd 

house,  to  indicate  that  their  best  chance  was  to  enter 
that  way.  He  nodded,  and  moved  in  that  direction. 
She  saw  then  that  Dodd,  Ackerman,  and  three  In- 
dians made  up  the  rest  of  the  party,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  Dodd,  who  had  an  old  shotgun,  all 
were  armed  with  clubs,  secured  as  they  came  through 
the  wood. 

As  she  turned  from  the  window,  she  heard  a  man 
coming  up  the  stairs,  and  hastily  placed  herself 
behind  the  stairway  partition.  He  would  hardly 
discover  her,  she  thought,  before  affairs  on  the  lower 
floor  claimed  his  attention.  The  partition  merely 
enclosed  the  stairway  opening,  so  it  was  small  shel- 
ter to  any  one  hiding,  but  it  might  easily  keep  her 
from  sight  for  a  few  minutes. 

He  had,  she  judged,  just  reached  the  top  step 
when  the  sound  of  a  scuffle  came  from  below.  He 
paused  to  listen,  and  she  could  see  his  fingers  grasp- 
ing the  edge  of  the  partition.  Suddenly,  it  dawned 
upon  her  that,  if  he  went  back,  it  would  be  one  more 
for  her  rescuers  to  fight,  and  that  he  would  come 
upon  them  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  She  had 
been  fearing  he  might  come  all  the  way  up;  now 
she  feared  he  might  turn  back.  Everything  might 
depend  upon  this  one  man. 

It  was  on  inspiration  that  she  acted;  she  did  not 
reason,  she  did  not  plan,  but  suddenly  she  swung 


Miss  Marsden's  Adventure         261 

around  the  end  of  that  partition  and  put  all  her 
weight  and  all  her  strength  into  one  fierce  shove. 
The  man,  taken  unawares,  toppled,  yelled,  fell,  and 
rolled  to  the  floor  below.  At  the  same  moment  there 
came  up  from  the  first  floor  a  most  horrible,  blood- 
curdling yell,  in  which  there  seemed  to  be  blended 
a  dozen  voices,  and  Jessie  Marsden,  her  over- 
wrought nerves  unable  longer  to  endure  the  strain, 
fell  in  a  swoon  at  the  head  of  the  attic  stairs. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE   FIGHT   AT   THE   COTTAGE 

WHEN  the  line  of  rescuers,  led  by  Dodd,  swerved 
from  the  woodland  path,  to  approach  the  cottage 
under  cover  of  the  trees,  Leonard's  anxiety  and 
impatience  forced  him,  at  the  risk  of  a  bad  fall, 
to  push  to  the  front.  He  swung  out  from  the  line, 
and,  dodging  among  the  trees,  soon  got  ahead  of  the 
Indians  and  was  on  even  terms  with  Dodd.  Acker- 
man,  still  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  the  excitement, 
but  entirely  satisfied  with  the  prospect  of  a  row 
of  some  sort,  kept  close  at  his  heels,  while  the  In- 
dians, far  from  warlike  in  the  cast-off  toggery  of 
civilization,  merely  followed  where  Dodd  led.  But 
Leonard  had  time  to  note  that  each  of  them  carried 
a  stout  cudgel,  and  he  himself  picked  up  a  short, 
heavy  stick  that  made  a  fairly  formidable  weapon. 
Ackerman  did  the  same,  but  later  decided  that  the 
stick  only  interfered  with  the  free  play  of  those 
hands  and  arms  that  had  won  all  former  battles 

for  him,  so  he  discarded  it. 

262 


The  Fight  at  the   Cottage         263 

As  Leonard  was  passing  Dodd,  the  latter  checked 
him  long  enough  to  caution,  "  Careful,  now.  We've 
got  to  know  what  to  do  before  we  do  it." 

Leonard's  impulse  was  to  dash  straight  to  the 
house  and  take  chances,  but,  even  in  his  excitement, 
he  knew  that  Dodd  was  right  and  that  they  must 
first  pause  to  learn  something  of  the  situation.  No 
one  knew  how  large  the  gang  was,  but  it  unques- 
tionably was  armed,  and,  unless  surprised,  would 
have  a  great  advantage.  Although  he  gave  no 
thought  to  the  danger  to  the  attacking  party,  he 
knew  that  it  would  be  worse  than  folly  to  jeopardize 
Miss  Marsden's  safety  by  any  rashness.  So  he 
slacked  up  as  he  neared  the  clearing,  and  crept  for- 
ward cautiously  at  the  point  where  there  would 
be  the  least  danger  of  observation.  Dodd  seized 
this  opportunity  to  turn  to  the  Indians.  Their  right- 
ing ability  might  be  modified  by  contact  with  civili- 
zation, like  their  dress,  but  their  yelling  ability  was 
not,  and  a  real  good  Indian  yell  is  an  awe-inspiring 
thing,  especially  when  it  comes  to  one's  ears  un- 
expectedly. 

"  War-whoop,  John,"  he  said  to  the  big  leader. 
"  Not  now,  but  when  fight  starts.  Scare  white 
man!" 

Big  John  grunted  and  explained  briefly  to  the 
other  two. 


264  Delightful   Dodd 

Leonard,  meanwhile,  was  advancing  carefully, 
with  Ackerman  just  behind.  His  face  was  set,  and 
his  eyes  alternately  blazed  fiercely  and  became  pa- 
thetic as  they  reflected  his  anguish  and  doubt.  He 
knew  that  the  principal  rooms  of  the  cottage  were 
on  the  opposite  side,  so  they  had  a  good  chance  of 
reaching  it  unobserved,  but  he  could  not  tell  where 
to  make  the  attack.  That  would  depend  on  where 
the  men  were.  He  swept  the  clearing  with  his 
eyes,  and  saw  that  no  one  was  on  watch  outside, 
which  was  one  thing  in  their  favour.  Then  he  let 
his  gaze  take  in  the  side  of  the  house,  going  from 
window  to  window,  in  the  hope  of  gaining  some 
clew  to  the  situation  inside,  and,  even  before  his 
eyes  reached  the  attic  window  in  their  search,  he 
became  conscious  of  a  figure  there.  A  great,  over- 
whelming joy  filled  his  heart  and  was  reflected  in 
his  face,  for  they  were  surely  in  time.  He  wanted 
to  cry  out  and  rush  forward,  but  she  placed  a  finger 
to  her  lips  and  then  motioned  to  the  shed  door. 
He  nodded,  to  show  that  he  understood,  and  turned 
to  those  behind  him. 

"  The  shed  door  is  open,"  he  said.  "  If  they're 
in  the  front  of  the  house,  as  I  think,  we  may  get 
through  the  kitchen  before  we  are  discovered.  We'll 
try  it,  but  at  the  first  cry  of  any  sort,  rush,  —  all 
rush !  We  must  overwhelm  them !  " 


The  Fight  at  the  Cottage         265 

"  And  yell ! "  added  Dodd,  turning  to  Big  John. 

"  Plenty  yell !  "  was  the  reply. 

The  order  in  which  they  crept  to  the  shed  door 
was :  Leonard,  Ackerman,  Dodd,  and  the  Indians. 
Dodd  was  no  coward,  but  he  resigned  the  leader- 
ship for  two  reasons :  he  could  not  hold  Leonard 
back,  and  he  had  not  the  strength  or  activity  to 
make  the  most  of  the  first  onslaught ;  it  was  better 
that  the  younger  men  should  head  the  rush.  At 
the  shed  door  Leonard  felt  a  strong  hand  laid  on 
his  shoulder,  and  Ackerman  whispered :  "  This 
looks  like  my  game."  Leonard  tried  to  shake  off 
the  hand,  but  it  closed  with  a  fiercer  grip. 

"  It's  mine,"  said  Ackerman,  determinedly.  "  I 
got  to  have  it." 

Leonard  felt  himself  forced  back  into  second 
place,  but  he  was  powerless  in  such  a  grip,  and  he 
dared  not  struggle  or  protest,  lest  he  should  alarm 
the  outlaws. 

Thus  getting  the  lead,  Ackerman  passed  into  the 
shed,  and  then  into  the  kitchen,  with  Leonard  almost 
at  his  elbow.  From  the  kitchen  they  could  hear 
the  men  swearing  and  talking  in  the  front  of  the 
house,  and,  with  joy,  Leonard  noted  that  the  way 
was  clear  to  the  room  where  they  were  busy  packing 
their  plunder.  Ackerman  paused  and  gathered  him- 
self for  a  rush,  indicating  by  a  motion  that  the  man 


266  Delightful  Dodd 

nearest  to  them,  who  was  stooping  over  a  bundle, 
was  his  particular  property. 

"  Now !  "  cried  Leonard. 

Ackerman  made  his  dash,  caught  his  stooping 
victim  in  his  arms,  and  hurled  him  head-first  into 
the  pit  of  the  stomach  of  a  man  who  was  just 
straightening  up.  The  next  instant  he  was  astride 
of  his  first  victim,  and  had  secured  possession  of  his 
revolver. 

"  Dodd's  scrappers !  "  yelled  one  of  the  outlaws, 
and  he  jumped  through  a  west  window  and  made 
for  the  terrace  stairway. 

Then  came  the  blood-curdling  yell  of  the  Indians, 
and  the  panic  of  the  outlaws  was  complete. 

"  Hands  up ! "  shouted  Dodd,  making  a  sweep 
of  the  room  with  his  double-barrelled  shotgun. 

Three  men  were  down,  one  thrown  by  Leonard 
as  he  followed  Ackerman  into  the  room;  one  man 
had  gone  through  the  window,  and  three,  with  a 
cry  of  "  Injuns ! "  when  they  heard  the  yell  and 
saw  the  brandished  clubs  back  of  Dodd,  hastily 
pointed  their  hands  heavenward. 

"  Git  that  man  that's  runnin',  Dodd ! "  ordered 
Ackerman.  "  I  got  these." 

Dodd  stepped  to  the  window  and  blazed  away, 
just  as  the  man  reached  the  edge  of  the  terrace. 


The  Fight  at  the  Cottage         267 

With  a  yell,  the  fellow  sprang  into  the  air  and 
rolled  to  the  bottom. 

"  I'll  bet  he'll  be  picking  bird-shot  out  of  himself 
for  a  year,"  remarked  Dodd,  "  and  he  won't  want 
to  sit  down  very  much.  Where's  Leonard  ?  " 

Ackerman  was  so  busy  superintending  the  dis- 
arming of  the  outlaws,  which  was  being  done  by 
Big  John  under  the  protection  of  the  clubs  of  his 
comrades  and  Ackerman' s  captured  revolver,  that 
he  had  not  noticed  the  absence  of  Leonard.  The 
ridiculous  ease  of  the  victory  amused  and  somewhat 
disgusted  Ackerman,  who  liked  a  real  fight,  but  the 
combination  of  a  complete  surprise,  an  Indian  war- 
whoop,  and  the  appearance  of  two  men  reputed  to 
be  able  to  juggle  human  beings  would  have  routed 
a  much  more  resourceful  crowd.  Ackerman  also 
lacked  a  realization  of  the  disconcerting  effect  of 
the  exercise  of  his  own  remarkable  strength.  To 
have  one  man  used  as  a  catapult  to  knock  the 
breath  out  of  another  would  bewilder  and  over- 
whelm almost  any  one.  But  it  seemed  to  Acker- 
man that  these  men  had  been  taken  like  so  many 
boys. 

Leonard,  meanwhile,  had  lost  all  interest  in 
affairs  on  the  lower  floor.  After  the  first  rush,  when 
he  had  tripped  and  violently  thrown  the  first  man  in 
his  way,  his  ears  had  caught  the  cry  and  the  fall 


268  Delightful  Dodd 

on  the  stairs  above,  and  the  fate  of  those  below 
ceased  to  be  of  any  moment.  He  went  up  the  stairs 
two  steps  at  a  time,  and  at  the  top  of  the  first  flight 
found  the  man  Miss  Marsden  had  thrown  down. 
With  a  push  and  a  kick  he  sent  the  fellow  rolling 
and  bumping  down  the  next  flight,  and  then  con- 
tinued to  the  attic. 

At  first  he  thought  the  girl  lying  there,  so  white 
and  still,  was  dead,  and  a  sob  of  anguish  rose  to  his 
lips.  He  knelt  beside  her,  raised  her  head  on  his 
arm,  and  then  noted  that  she  was  breathing. 
Tenderly  he  took  her  up  in  his  arms,  to  carry  her 
down-stairs,  and  paused,  as  the  sound  of  conflict 
came  from  below.  He  could  not  take  her  there; 
he  could  not  leave  her  and  go  back.  There  was 
nothing  of  cowardice  in  this :  he  had  no  thought 
for  his  own  safety,  but  heart  and  mind  were  centred 
in  the  girl.  All  else  was  crowded  into  the  back- 
ground and  forgotten. 

As  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  hesitating, 
he  heard  Ackerman  instructing  the  Indians  to  dis- 
arm the  outlaws,  and  knew  that  the  battle  was 
over,  so  he  descended  with  his  burden.  At  the 
head  of  the  lower  stairway  she  opened  her  eyes 
slowly,  gave  him  a  faint  smile,  and  said,  simply, 
"  I'm  glad  it's  you." 

Trifling  words,  but  what  a  joy  they  carried  to 


The  Fight  at  the  Cottage         269 

his  heart!  Forgetting  the  situation,  her  weakness, 
everything,  he  almost  crushed  her  in  a  delirious 
embrace. 

"  You  hurt  me,"  she  said,  faintly,  but  she  still  let 
him  hold  her,  and,  as  his  arms  relaxed  a  little,  one 
of  her  arms  stole  about  his  neck,  and  her  eyes  closed 
again.  He  would  have  stood  there,  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs,  content  simply  to  hold  her  thus,  until  he 
dropped  from  fatigue,  had  he  not  heard  Dodd  ask- 
ing for  him. 

"  Perhaps  I'd  better  try  to  walk  now,"  she  said, 
as  he  moved.  "  It  might  look  better." 

"  In  a  minute,"  he  replied,  and,  still  holding  her 
helpless  (and  contented)  in  his  arms,  he  kissed  her. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


THE   RESULT   OF   THE   FIGHT 

WHEN  the  excitement 
had  subsided  sufficiently 
to  enable  one  to  discover 
exactly  how  matters  stood, 
a  peculiar  condition  of  af- 
fairs was  found  to  exist. 
Eight  outlaws  had  been 
captured  by  "  three  In- 
dians, two  white  men,  and 
a  lover,"  as  Dodd  ex- 
pressed it  later.  Dodd 
held  that  it  would  be  un- 
fair to  classify  Leonard 
as  an  Indian,  and  as  for 
including  him  among  the 
captors,  why  —  "  Oh,  of 
course,  he  captured  a  girl,"  Dodd  conceded,  whim- 
sically, "  but  I  don't  understand  she  made  much 

of  a  fight."    Dodd  likewise  conceded  that  Leonard 

270 


The  Result  of  the  Fight         271 

had  upset  a  man  in  his  rush  for  the  stairs.  "  But," 
he  protested,  "  the  man  got  in  the  way,  and  a  fellow 
who's  in  a  hurry  to  see  his  best  girl  hasn't  time 
to  dodge  heedless  people.  It  was  an  accident." 

These  comments  did  not  come  immediately,  but 
were  interjected  into  the  discussion  that  followed 
when  they  had  all  gathered  at  the  main  house,  and 
even  then  Dodd  made  unnecessary  trouble  for  him- 
self by  trying  to  restrain  his  sense  of  humour  from 
embarrassing  Miss  Marsden,  —  "  only  to  find,"  he 
explained  later,  "  that  she  was  too  contented  and 
preoccupied  to  be  disturbed  by  anything.  I  could 
have  joked  all  I  pleased." 

But,  as  explained,  there  was  little  opportunity 
for  joking  while  they  remained  at  the  cottage. 
Dodd,  the  moment  he  saw  that  Ackerman  and  the 
Indians  had  the  situation  well  in  hand,  went  to  see 
what  had  become  of  the  man  he  had  "  peppered  " 
from  behind.  And  he  went  cautiously.  He  knew 
that  the  man  was  armed,  and  a  man  who  has  had  a 
few  hundred  bird-shot  driven  into  his  anatomy  from 
the  rear  is  inclined  to  be  irritable ;  he  would  probably 
like  nothing  better  than  to  get  one  good  shot  at 
the  man  who  had  thus  humiliated  him,  no  matter 
if  he  hung  for  it  later.  The  fellow  who  feels  as  if 
he  had  just  been  stung  by  a  thousand  nettles  isn't 
worrying  very  much  over  what  happens  to  him 


272  Delightful  Dodd 

at  a  later  date.  So  Dodd,  leaving  the  house  through 
the  window  from  which  he  had  fired,  moved  to  the 
edge  of  the  terrace  in  the  most  approved  border 
warfare  fashion,  even  lying  flat  on  his  stomach  to 
peer  through  the  bushes  that  skirted  the  edge. 

"  This  is  mighty  serious  to  me,"  he  mused,  "  but 
I  suppose  it  would  look  mighty  funny  to  any  one 
else.  I  must  be  pretty  clumsy  at  it,  but  I'd  rather 
be  a  joke  than  a  dead  man." 

He  had  reason  to  be  thankful  for  his  caution, 
too,  for  the  outlaw  below  had  a  revolver  in  his 
hand,  and,  in  impotent  rage,  was  looking  for  a 
human  target.  He  had  been  stunned  for  a  moment 
by  his  fall,  and,  with  returning  consciousness,  came 
a  strong  desire  to  do  almost  anything  except  sit 
down;  he  didn't  believe  that  he  ever  would  want 
to  sit  down  again.  This  feeling  had  been  impressed 
upon  him  strongly  when  he  instinctively  assumed 
a  sitting  posture,  for  purposes  of  observation,  and 
then  fell  over  on  his  stomach  again,  for  purposes 
of  comfort.  Finally,  however,  he  had  succeeded  in 
getting  on  his  feet,  and,  revolver  in  hand,  his  eyes 
searched  the  ridge  above  for  some  sign  of  the  man 
he  held  responsible  for  his  unpremeditated  jump. 

Dodd,  peering  through  the  bushes  above,  noted 
the  awkward  position  in  which  he  stood,  and  the 


The  Result  of  the  Fight         273 

way  he  swept  the  terrace  with  his  revolver,  swear- 
ing volubly  and  emphatically  all  the  time. 

"  It  would  relieve  his  mind  a  good  deal  if  he 
could  get  a  shot  at  me,"  reasoned  Dodd,  "  but  I 
don't  think  I  want  his  mind  relieved." 

Seeing  no  one,  the  man  started  painfully  along 
the  path  to  the  bay,  still  holding  his  revolver  ready 
for  action,  and  turning  frequently  with  a  menacing 
motion  toward  the  terrace. 

"This  won't  do  at  all,"  argued  Dodd,  "but  I 
don't  want  to  hurt  that  fellow  any  more.  If  I  give 
him  many  more  perforations,  he'll  have  to  stand 
on  his  head  to  keep  from  leaking.  But  what  can 
I  do?  If  I  yell  at  him,  he'll  shoot  at  me,  and  he's 
not  shooting  bird-shot,  either.  I've  just  got  to 
discourage  him  a  little  more  first." 

Dodd  really  did  dislike  to  take  that  second  shot, 
although  the  way  the  men  had  used  his  cottage  dis- 
pleased him  greatly,  but  he  really  could  see  nothing 
else  to  do.  The  man,  on  the  lower  terrace,  was 
making  his  way  slowly  to  the  bay  and  the  boat. 
He  was  armed  and  desperately  angry.  Given  warn- 
ing of  any  kind,  he  would  shoot  first  and  talk  after- 
ward. And  Dodd  did  not  see  why  he  should  let 
a  little  additional  discomfort  for  the  outlaw  weigh 
against  a  chance  of  death  for  himself.  So  he  poked 
his  shotgun  through  the  bushes,  endeavoured  to 


274  Delightful  Dodd 

avoid  a  vital  spot  by  aiming  at  the  man's  legs,  and 
blazed  away.  The  man  yelled  and  collapsed,  but 
got  on  his  feet  again  almost  instantly. 

"  Don't  do  it  again !  "  he  shouted,  and,  in  the 
pain  and  despair  of  the  moment,  seeing  no  enemy, 
but  feeling  that  another  charge  would  follow  imme- 
diately if  he  did  not  demonstrate  his  wish  to  sur- 
render, he  hurled  his  revolver  away  from  him  and 
held  up  his  hands. 

"Come  back  up  here!"  ordered  Dodd,  and  he 
added  to  himself,  "  It's  a  good  thing  he  doesn't 
know  I'm  out  of  ammunition  and  both  barrels 
empty.  But  the  things  people  don't  know  are  chang- 
ing history  every  day." 

When  Dodd  and  his  limping  prisoner  reached 
the  cottage,  they  found  the  other  outlaws  safely 
bound  and  disarmed,  and  Ackerman  preparing  to 
take  them  to  the  house.  Dodd  asked  for  Leonard 
immediately,  and  then  he  heard  Miss  Marsden  sug- 
gesting that  she  thought  she  could  walk  now, 
whereat  he  laughed.  The  strain  relieved,  every- 
thing seemed  to  amuse  Dodd. 

"  If  you  can't,"  he  called,  "  I'll  have  the  carriage 
sent  down  from  the  house." 

"  Oh,  I'm  sure  I  can,"  came  the  reply,  and  the 
next  moment  she  appeared,  blushing  a  little  and 
seeming  rather  weak. 


The  Result  of  the  Fight         275 

"  I  don't  think,"  said  Dodd,  solicitously,  to  Leon- 
ard, "  that  she  ought  to  be  asked  to  walk  to  the 
house  —  without  help." 

Somehow  Dodd  seemed  to  understand  pretty  well 
what  had  happened.  Perhaps,  in  view  of  Leonard's 
mad  rush  up  the  stairs,  any  man  would  have  sur- 
mised the  result  of  the  meeting  at  the  top,  even  if 
he  hadn't  heard  Miss  Marsden's  suggestion  that 
she  really  thought  she  could  walk  now.  Anyhow, 
Dodd  found  a  vent  for  his  humour,  and  Leonard 
laughed,  as  if  the  circumstances  made  the  teasing 
a  matter  of  no  importance  to  him. 

"  Can  I  help  you  in  any  way  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"No,"  replied  Dodd;    "not  me." 

A  moment  later  Dodd  turned  to  say  something 
to  Leonard,  and  Leonard  had  disappeared.  So  had 
Miss  Marsden. 

"  We'll  march  our  prisoners  back  by  the  road," 
said  Dodd  to  Ackerman.  "  We  couldn't  watch 
them  so  well  in  the  path.  And,"  he  added,  "  it 
might  be  dangerous  to  do  any  shooting  in  the  path, 
if  one  of  them  should  try  to  make  a  break.  You 
never  can  be  sure  that  somebody  isn't  using  that 
path,  especially  now." 

So  the  prisoners,  tightly  bound  as  to  their  hands, 
were  marched  along  the  road  under  guard  of  three 
Indians  with  clubs,  Dodd  with  his  shotgun,  and 


276  Delightful  Dodd 

Ackerman  with  captured  revolvers  sticking  from 
every  pocket.  Ackerman  bantered  the  men  a  little 
as  they  walked  along,  Dodd  reproved  them  for  using 
his  property,  and  Leonard,  only  a  short  distance 
away,  heard  them  pass.  Leonard  was  in  no  hurry 
at  all.  Miss  Marsden  had  been  so  overcome  by 
the  strain  and  shock  of  her  experiences  that  it 
seemed  imperative  to  move  in  the  most  leisurely 
fashion,  in  addition  to  giving  her  considerable  as- 
sistance. And  she  seemed  to  be  in  no  greater  hurry 
than  Leonard. 

"  I  suppose,"  he  remarked,  as  the  sound  of  voices 
came  through  the  trees,  "  that  we  ought  not  to 
have  left  as  we  did.  I  should  have  helped  take 
care  of  these  men." 

"  They  were  bound  and  helpless  before  we  left," 
she  argued.  "  It  would  have  done  no  good  to  keep 
with  them,  and,"  shuddering,  "  I  wanted  to  get 
away  from  those  horrible  men.  You  can't  imagine 
what  I  suffered  in  that  attic." 

The  path  was  so  narrow  that  men  coming  along 
it  had  to  go  single  file,  but  somehow  there  seemed 
to  be  room  for  two  now,  and  the  two  required  even 
less  room  than  before  when  her  shudder  led  him 
to  try  to  reassure  her. 

"  I  can  imagine  it,"  he  replied  softly,  "  because 
I  know  what  I  suffered  up  to  the  moment  that  I 


The  Result  of  the  Fight         277 

saw  your  face  in  the  window,  and  knew  that  you 
were  still  safe.  You  can't  imagine  the  thrill,  the 
spasm  of  joy  it  gave  me." 

"  I  can  imagine  it,"  she  replied,  repeating  his 
words  and  smiling  up  into  his  face,  "  because  I  know 
the  relief  and  joy  unspeakable  that  came  to  me 
when  I  saw  you  peering  through  the  bushes." 

They  walked  on  silently  for  a  moment.  Then  she 
said,  retrospectively: 

"  I  didn't  understand,  Ralph." 

"  Neither  did  I,"  he  returned. 

"  I  mean,"  she  explained,  "  I  didn't  understand 
myself." 

"And  did  you  understand  me?"  he  asked. 

"  No,"  she  answered.  "  I  thought  you  were  pos- 
ing. I  was  awfully  unjust  —  " 

"  Are  you  sure  now  that  I  am  not  posing?  " 

"  Yes ;    I  am  sure." 

"  What  makes  you  sure  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  answered,  thoughtfully. 
"  Mr.  Dodd  said  something  that  set  me  to  thinking, 
but  it  isn't  that.  I  would  know  it  anyhow  —  now. 
I  —  I  — '  well,  I  just  know  it." 

"  You  mean,"  he  said,  very  softly,  "  that  you  love 
and  you  trust." 

"  Yes,"  she  returned,  "  I  love  and  I  trust.  I 
know  it  because  I  know  you,  and  my  heart  tells 


278  Delightful  Dodd 

me.  I  was  unjust,  unfair,  mean,  spiteful;  I  knew 
it  when  I  saw  your  face  in  —  " 

But  he  could  not  let  her  talk  thus  of  herself, 
and  he  took  the  easiest,  most  effective,  and  most 
delightful  method  of  stopping  it. 

"  I  am  to  blame,"  he  finally  found  time  to  say. 
"  I  made  a  secret  of  my  reasons,  and  then  blamed 
you  for  not  understanding  them.  I  put  a  mean, 
despicable  interpretation  upon  your  changed  manner 
when  the  fault  was  mine." 

"No;    mine,"  she  insisted. 

"  Mine,"  he  retorted,  and  again  prevented  her 
from  replying  until  he  could  go  on.  "  But  I  did 
lose  everything,"  he  said.  "  A  few  hundreds  may 
be  saved,  but  I  am  and  shall  be  dependent  on  what 
I  can  earn." 

"  I  am  glad,"  she  said,  simply. 

"  Glad !  "  he  repeated. 

"  Very  glad,"  she  said.  "  I  would  rather  live 
on  $1,200  a  year,  made  by  my  husband,  than  on 
$12,000  a  year,  made  by  my  husband's  father  or 
grandfather.  To  that  extent  only  is  my  wonderful 
independence  left.  I  will,  I  must  be  independent  of 
all  but  my  husband.  But,  oh,  Ralph !  I  was  so  much 
mistaken  in  myself  in  everything  else ;  I  was  so  self- 
sufficient;  I  thought  I  was  so  strong,  so  resource- 
ful, so  capable,  and  find  I'm  as  weak  and  foolish  and 


The  Result  of  the  Fight         279 

dependent  as  any  other  woman,  and  —  and  —  I'm 
glad  of  it,  Ralph.  I  don't  want  to  be  independent ; 
I  don't  want  to  fight  the  battle  of  life  alone;  I  just 
want  some  one  stronger  to  take  up  the  fight,  and 
let  me  help  all  I  can.  That's  what  I  meant  when 
I  said  I  didn't  understand,  Ralph;  I  didn't,  for  I've 
never  wanted  to  depend  on  any  one  else  before." 

"  But  you  do  now  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  do  now,"  she  answered,  and  they  walked  on 
in  silence.  Then  she  said,  "  But  he  must  be  inde- 
pendent and  strong." 

"  Dearest,"  he  answered,  "  I  am  only  just  learn- 
ing what  independence  is;  I  am  only  just  learning 
the  joy  of  asking  a  woman  to  let  me  work  for  her, 
—  not  merely  to  provide  for  her,  but  to  work  for 
her.  I  shall  be  really  independent." 

"  Of  all  but  me,"  she  said,  quickly. 

"  Of  all  but  you,"  he  answered. 

"  For  I  must  help  in  some  ways,"  she  added. 

"  Without  you  I  would  be  useless  and  helpless ; 
with  you  I  shall  be  strong  and  earnest  and  of  some 
real  worth,  for  you  have  taught  me  —  " 

"  Hush !  "  she  interposed.  "  We  have  helped 
each  other,  but  I  cannot  teach  my  prince." 

They  were  a  long  time  getting  to  the  house. 
Dodd  said  he  did  not  see  how  it  was  possible  to 
walk  so  slowly. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

SOME   TROUBLESOME    POINTS 

THEY  were  already  discussing  the  question  of 
the  reward  when  Leonard  arrived  at  the  house,  and 
some  winded  horses,  covered  with  lather,  showed 
that  the  party  coming  by  way  of  Neahtawanta  was 
on  hand  to  take  charge  of  the  outlaws. 

"  The  reward,"  one  of  the  arrivals  was  saying, 
"  goes  to  Mr.  Dodd.  He  can  make  such  disposi- 
tion of  it  as  he  wishes,  but  he  is  the  one  who  has 
met  the  terms  of  the  offer.  He  found  these  fellows, 
he  notified  us,  and  he  has  now  turned  them  over 
to  us." 

"  I  didn't  find  them,"  protested  Dodd.  "  Dake 
Wakeley  found  them." 

"  Dake  Wakeley  didn't  find  them,"  interposed 
Leonard,  fearful  that  Dodd  would  evade  the  good 
fortune  that  had  come  to  him.  "  Dake  Wakeley 
doesn't  even  know  that  they've  been  found  yet. 

He  had  the  chance  to  find  them  and  to  notify  the 

280 


Some  Troublesome  Points         281 

authorities,  but  he  merely  told  a  neighbour  that 
somebody  was  trespassing,  which  was  all  he  knew." 

"  He  has  no  claim  on  the  reward,"  asserted  the 
official.  "  You  may  do  what  you  please  for  him, 
but  he  didn't  notify  us  and  he  didn't  turn  any  of 
the  men  over  to  us.  We  can't  go  back  of  those 
two  points  without  getting  in  a  tangle." 

"  You  don't  think  I  got  these  men  alone,  do 
you  ?  "  retorted  Dodd.  "  Why,  Acker  man  led  the 
charge." 

"  Who  planned  it  ?  "  persisted  Leonard.  "  Who 
kept  us  from  breaking  right  out  into  the  open, 
wihere  we  would  have  made  a  fine  target?  Who 
got  the  Indians  to  help?  Who  steered  us  to  just 
the  right  point  to  make  the  attack,  and  told  us 
just  how  to  make  it  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  notice  a  man  named  Leonard  holding 
back  very  much,"  asserted  Dodd,  rebelliously. 

"  Oh,  that  was  different,"  retorted  Leonard.  "  I 
had  a  reason,  and  I  don't  count  in  this  little  matter, 
anyway.  I  didn't  get  any  bandits." 

"What  did  you  get?"  asked  Dodd,  maliciously. 

"I  got  the  reward,  the  only  reward  I  want  or 
will  touch,"  answered  Leonard,  promptly,  and  with 
a  smile  at  Dodd.  "  I  went  for  it,  and  I  got  it. 
The  other  reward  is  too  trifling." 

The  official  and  his  party  looked  rather  bewil- 


282  Delightful  Dodd 

dered,  but  no  one  seemed  disposed  to  explain  the 
matter  to  them. 

"  I  shall  report,"  announced  the  officer,  at  last, 
"  that  the  reward  belongs  to  Mr.  Dodd.  I  really 
don't  see  how  we  can  recognize  any  one  else  in  the 
transaction.  Of  course,  Mr.  Dodd  can  do  what  he 
pleases  in  the  matter  of  sharing  with  any  who  have 
rendered  him  assistance." 

"  Render  me  assistance !  "  exclaimed  Dodd.  "  I 
only  helped  out  a  little  when  Ackerman  got  going. 
Why,  he  made  a  battering-ram  of  one  man  to  knock 
the  wind  out  of  another." 

"  Yes,"  admitted  Ackerman,  thoughtfully,  "  I 
guess  I  got  the  lad  that  I  put  my  grip  on.  I  'most 
always  count  on  havin'  a  man  when  I  close  on  him. 
I'd  feel  hurt  in  the  pride  if  one  got  away." 

"  You  did  more  than  that,"  said  Dodd. 

"  There's  only  one  I  put  my  hands  on,"  returned 
Ackerman.  "  What  I  get  my  hands  on  is  mine,  but 
that's  all.  How  much  does  one  pay?" 

"  Why,  the  offer  was  $200  for  each  individual 
member  of  the  gang,  caught  separately,  or  $2,000 
for  the  whole  gang,"  replied  the  officer.  "  You 
might  straighten  it  up  with  Mr.  Dodd  by  taking 
the  $200  for  the  one  you  claim." 

"  Suits  me,"  said  Ackerman. 

Dodd    was    disposed    to    insist    that    Ackerman 


Some  Troublesome  Points         283 

should  have  at  least  an  eighth  of  the  reward,  if  he 
refused  to  admit  that  more  than  one  capture  should 
be  placed  to  his  credit,  but  Ackerman  pleaded  that 
$200  at  one  time  would  get  him  into  all  the  trouble 
he  could  stand. 

"  I've  got  into  jail  on  less'n  a  hunderd,"  he  ex- 
plained. "  You  give  me  two  hunderd,  an'  a  job 
when  I  git  back,  an'  I'll  go  to  Chicago  an'  blow 
myself.  This  place'll  look  mighty  good  to  me  after 
blowin'  in  two  hunderd." 

Dodd  had  to  laugh  at  this  plan  of  enjoying  the 
reward,  but  he  knew  enough  of  men  to  realize  how 
futile  it  was  to  try  to  get  Ackerman  to  spend  his 
money  in  any  but  his  own  way. 

"  I  like  you,  Ackerman,"  he  said,  "  and,  just 
to  make  sure  that  you'll  come  back,  there  will  be 
another  hundred  to  your  credit  here." 

"  I  couldn't  have  that  much  an'  not  be  restless," 
returned  Ackerman.  "  Make  it  twenty-five  an'  I'll 
go  you.  I  never  was  shy  of  work  when  I  wanted 
it;  but  this  place  is  goin'  to  look  awful  good  to 
me  when  I  finish  up,  —  lots  better'n  a  job  on  a 
lake  boat  or  hustlin'  freight  or  doin'  any  of  the  other 
things  I've  tried." 

So  this  was  settled,  and  Dodd's  thoughts  turned 
to  the  Indians.  He  thought  they  were  entitled  to 


284  Delightful   Dodd 


something,  but  they  would  not  know  what  to  do 
with  any  considerable  sum  of  money. 

"How  much,  John?"  he  asked  of  the  Indian, 
who  had  been  an  attentive  listener. 

"  Two  dollar,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Oh,  you  can  use  more  than  that." 

"  Two  dollar  cash,  five  dollar  corn,  potato,  what 
need." 

"  John,"  said  Dodd,  after  a  pause,  "  it  will  be 
five  dollars  cash  each,  and  anything  that  we  grow 
on  the  farm  whenever  you  want  it." 

"  Dodd  plenty  good  to  John,"  grunted  the  big 
buck. 

"  It  doesn't  seem  to  me  right,"  remarked  Dodd, 
thoughtfully.  "  Of  course,  that  money  will  do  me 
a  lot  of  good  right  now.  It  looks  bigger  than  any 
$20,000  ever  did  in  my  banking  days.  But  I  can't 
see  how  I  am  entitled  to  so  much  of  it." 

"  I'll  tell  you  how  it  is,"  said  Leonard.  "  You 
kept  the  gang  intact.  Without  you,  one  would  have 
escaped,  and,  if  one  had  escaped,  the  other  seven 
would  have  been  worth  only  $1,400.  That  makes 
the  one  you  followed  and  brought  back  worth  $600 
alone.  Add  to  that  the  fact  that  you  found  them, 
notified  the  authorities,  and  showed  the  method  and 
place  of  attack  —  " 


Some  Troublesome  Points        285 

The  old  whimsical  smile  had  appeared  on  Dodd's 
face,  and  now  he  interrupted. 

"  Do  you  know  how  I  felt  with  that  old  gun  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  No,"   answered   Leonard. 

"  I  felt  like  a  young  rooster  I've  got  out  back 
by  the  barn,"  explained  Dodd.  "  I  never  was  much 
for  firearms,  anyway,  and  the  only  times  that  old 
shotgun  has  been  used  in  years  have  been  when 
some  of  the  farm-hands  have  borrowed  it  to  try 
to  discourage  a  hawk  or  a  skunk.  I  hadn't  had 
a  noise  like  that  so  close  to  my  ear  in  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  and —  Well,  say!  come  out  and 
see  the  rooster." 

He  led  the  way  and  the  others  followed. 

"  Let  those  ex-tenants  of  mine  come,  too,"  he 
said,  indicating  the  outlaws.  "  They're  not  going 
to  see  much  of  anything  funny  for  some  time." 

So  the  outlaws,  still  bound,  and  now  guarded 
by  the  men  who  had  come  after  them,  were  marched 
to  the  barn  with  the  rest. 

"  This  rooster,"  explained  Dodd,  "  is  just  learn- 
ing to  crow,  and  he  scares  himself.  Just  watch 
him." 

The  rooster  in  question  would  make  careful  and 
nervous  preparation  for  the  feat,  and  finally  emit  a 
sudden,  incomplete  crow,  the  reason  for  its  incom- 


286  Delightful  Dodd 

pleteness  being  that  the  sound  of  its  own  voice 
would  so  startle  the  rooster  that  it  would  jump 
sideways  about  two  feet.  Naturally,  this  would 
cut  the  crow  short.  The  rooster  would  look  sur- 
prised, gradually  regain  possession  of  its  startled 
faculties  and  its  courage,  and  would  cautiously  be- 
gin preparations  for  another  trial. 

"  That's  the  way  I  felt  when  I  was  shooting  at 
that  fellow,"  explained  Dodd,  "  and  it  was  just  as 
hard  to  keep  from  jumping  about  eighteen  feet  the 
second  time  as  it  was  the  first.  I  shall  always  have 
a  fellow  feeling  for  that  rooster  after  this.  By  the 
way,  I'll  bet  you  never  saw  a  hen  that  was  scared 
by  her  own  voice.  No,  sir.  A  hen  just  naturally 
talks  up  in  a  businesslike  way,  and  takes  it  for 
granted  that  all  creation  is  interested  in  what  she 
has  to  say.  But  that  isn't  a  subject  for  general  dis- 
cussion in  a  mixed  company,  when  a  man  wants  to 
be  polite  —  or  wise." 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

DODD'S    PARTING   DISSERTATION 

DODD  and  Leonard  sat  on  the  porch  smoking.  In 
the  shade  of  the  house  a  carriage  and  a  wagon 
waited  to  take  the  departing  guests  and  their  bag- 
gage to  Neahtawanta.  Mrs.  Congrove,  Miss  Mars- 
den,  and  Leonard  were  about  to  leave.  Presently 
some  farm-hands  came,  loaded  the  trunks  on  the 
wagon,  and  one  of  the  men  drove  away  with  the 
load.  The  carriage  would  not  start  until  later,  and 
the  ladies  were  still  busy  with  their  hand-baggage. 

"  It  has  been  an  eventful  summer  for  me,  Mr. 
Dodd,"  Leonard  remarked,  reflectively,  "  but,  taken 
all  in  all,  the  happiest  and  most  satisfactory  I  ever 
have  known." 

"  It  certainly  has  been  eventful  for  all  of  us," 
conceded  Dodd,  with  a  note  of  regret  at  the  part- 
ing1 in  his  tone. 

"  For  my  part,"  continued  Leonard,  "  I  lost 
everything  and  then  found  more." 

"  You   found  yourself,"   said  Dodd. 
287 


288  Delightful  Dodd 

"  I  found  a  wife  —  the  wife,"  corrected  Leonard. 

"  There  are  others,"  said  Dodd,  and  his  eyes 
twinkled  momentarily. 

"  The  wife  for  me,"  insisted  Leonard ;  "  the  one 
girl  in  all  the  world.  That  is  the  great  find  that 
makes  all  losses  too  insignificant  for  even  a  thought." 

"  You  found  yourself,  your  real  self,"  repeated 
Dodd. 

"  Yes,  of  course,"  admitted  Leonard.  "  I  know 
what  you  mean,  and  it's  a  fine  thing  for  any  man 
to  find  himself  that  way,  but  by  comparison  — " 

"  You  had  to  find  yourself  before  you  could  find 
the  wife,"  interrupted  Dodd ;  "  that  is,  such  a  wife. 
You  mean  well,  but  you  figure  from  effect  to  cause 
instead  of  from  cause  to  effect." 

"  I  think  that  finding  the  girl  helped  me  to  find 
myself,"  laughed  Leonard,  "  but  I  won't  argue  the 
question;  I'm  satisfied  to  have  found  both.  Now, 
I  am  going  to  take  her  back  to  her  aunt's,  escort 
my  prospective  sister-in-law  to  Chicago,  tackle  my 
new  job,  get  well  enough  accustomed  to  it  to  be  sure 
that  I  am  fairly  started,  and  then  go  back  for  the 
bride.  I  must  know  how  and  where  I  stand,  but, 
if  work  —  " 

"  Oh,  you're  all  right,"  Dodd  broke  in.  "  Any 
one  who  can  learn  how  to  work  —  just  merely  how 
to  work  —  as  quickly  and  easily  as  you  did  is  in 


Dodd's  Parting  Dissertation        289 

no  danger  of  failure.  What  are  Mrs.  Congrove's 
plans?" 

"  She  will  live  quietly  among  her  old  friends  in 
a  Chicago  suburb,"  answered  Leonard.  "  She  will 
have  enough  for  that,  and  the  same  suburb  will 
suit  me." 

"What  suburb  is  it?"  asked  Dodd. 

"  I've  forgotten  the  name,"  replied  Leonard,  "  but 
it  suits  me  because  it  suits  Jessie.  Of  course,  she'll 
come  when  I  tell  her  I'm  ready,"  he  hastened  to  add, 
"  but  don't  you  think  it's  a  wise  plan  for  a  fellow 
to  put  himself  in  a  position  to  ask  her  to  come  where 
her  only  sister  is  ?  " 

"  It's  a  plan,"  said  Dodd,  emphatically,  "  that 
shows  real  genius." 

"  And  I  shall  have  her  there  before  Christmas, 
unless  I  disagree  with  my  new  employer,  which 
seems  impossible  under  the  circumstances,  for  he 
knows  all  about  me,  and  I'll  work  hard,"  continued 
Leonard.  "  We  want  to  be  conservative,  —  that  is, 
Jessie  and  I  do.  Don't  you  think  it's  conservative 
for  us  to  wait  so  long?  " 

"  For  people  in  your  position,"  answered  Dodd, 
"  it  is  wonderfully  conservative." 

Leonard  nodded  his  gratification  at  this  endorse- 
ment (for  his  previous  worldliness  seemed  utterly 


290  Delightful  Dodd 

lacking  in  this  affair),. and  relapsed  into  silence. 
It  was  Dodd  who  finally  spoke  again. 

"  I  am  glad  that  things  have  turned  out  so  satis- 
factorily for  you,"  he  remarked,  "  because  it  makes 
me  feel  mean  to  be  the  only  lucky  one,  and  I've 
had  some  additional  good  news  myself  to-day." 

"What?"  asked  Leonard. 

"  Well,  I  told  you  about  that  Button  note, 
didn't  I?" 

"  Yes." 

"  And  the  draft  he  made  on  the  Chicago  commis- 
sion man  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  that  draft  was  paid  after  he  had  sent 
the  telegram  I  wrote  for  him.  I  tell  you,  there  are 
times  when  men  have  to  be  handled  without  gloves. 
If  I  could  handle  them  that  way  for  myself  as  well 
as  I  do  for  other  people,  I'd  be  rich." 

"  No  doubt  about  it,"  asquiesced  Leonard,  "  but 
I'm  delighted  that  the  draft  has  been  paid." 

"  So  am  I." 

"  If  you  had  to  meet  the  note  yourself  —  " 

"Oh,  I  wasn't  thinking  of  that  so  much." 

"What  were  you  thinking  of?" 

"  Why,"  whimsically,  "  my  great  feeling  of  relief 
arises  from  the  fact  that  I  won't  have  to  tell  Mrs. 
Dodd  what  a  fool  I  was.  Still,  by  balancing  my 


Dodd's  Parting  Dissertation       291 

books  for  the  summer,  I  might  be  able  to  convince 
her  that  it  pays  to  be  clever." 

"  Where's  the  dividend  ?  "  asked  Leonard. 

"  Dake  Wakeley  went  out  of  his  way  to  tell  me 
there  were  people  trespassing  on  my  property,  — 
the  first  time  he  ever  has  been  known  to  raise  a 
finger  for  any  man,  —  and  the  Indians  followed 
me  when  they  would  turn  for  no  one  else,"  explained 
Dodd.  "  I'm  getting  a  dividend  out  of  that  reward 
that  just  nicely  puts  me  at  the  turning-point  with 
the  old  farm.  I'll  probably  never  have  to  raise  the 
price  of  the  north  half  of  it  again  to  make  things 
balance.  You  don't  realize  how  much  can  be  done 
on  a  place  like  this  with  a  little  ready  money  that 
you  don't  have  to  pay  back.  Yes,  I  really  think 
that  I  could  convince  Mrs.  Dodd  that  my  policy, 
taken  as  a  whole,  is  a  wise  one,  but,"  with  a  sigh 
of  relief,  "  I'm  glad  I  don't  have  to  try.  You  never 
can  tell  what  a  woman  will  remember  that  you  have 
forgotten.  I —  Ah,  here  come  the  ladies." 

Dodd  motioned  the  man  with  the  carriage  to 
drive  up,  and  then,  with  his  old-fashioned  courtesy 
and  quaint  comments,  helped  them  to  their  seats. 
He  was  not  going  to  drive  them  over  himself  this 
time,  some  matters  connected  with  the  farm  requir- 
ing his  attention. 

"  We  shall  hope  to  see  you  up  here  again,"  he 


292  Delightful  Dodd 

said,  and  Mrs.  Dodd,  emerging  from  the  house  just 
then,  nodded  her  approval. 

"  We'll  surely  come,"  Leonard  assured  him. 

Dodd  looked  at  Miss  Marsden. 

"  Oh,  Ralph's  '  we '  includes  me  from  now  on, 
of  course,"  she  said,  brightly,  "  but  you  really  ought 
not  to  be  quite  so  inaccessible,  Mr.  Dodd.  A  Chi- 
cago boat  stopping  at  Old  Mission  once  a  week, 
or  a  trip  by  boat  and  carriage  from  Traverse  City, 
leave  you  just  a  little  out  of  reach.  There  ought 
to  be  a  trolley  line  from  Traverse  City  to  the 
end  of  the  peninsula." 

Dodd  leaned   forward  and  spoke  confidentially. 

"  There's  going  to  be  one,"  he  said. 

"  When  ?  "  she  asked,  in  surprise. 

"  After  the  next  panic,"  replied  Dodd. 

They  all  looked  rather  bewildered,  and  finally 
Leonard  remarked,  with  a  laugh,  that  he  didn't  see 
what  a  panic  had  to  do  with  a  trolley  line  in  that 
locality. 

"A  panic,"  said  Dodd,  "brings  men  back  to 
earth,  and  they  begin  to  look  around  for  good,  safe 
investments,  while  a  long  term  of  prosperity  leads 
them  in  search  of  fabulous  profits.  The  road  al- 
ready has  been  planned,  and  it  is  conceded  that  it 
will  pay,  but  capital  is  too  much  interested  just  now 
in  large  fictional  profits  to  give  any  attention  to 


D odd's  Parting  Dissertation        293 

small,  real  profits.  Every  paper  you  pick  up  presents 
the  allurements  of  wonderful  enterprises  that  pay, 
or  will  pay,  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  per 
cent,  and  every  man  with  a  little  money  or  a  lot  of 
money  has  some  plan  of  his  own  in  mind  or  in  sight 
that  makes  a  safe  five,  seven,  or  even  ten  per  cent. 
look  like  a  mere  waste  of  capital.  But  after  a  panic 
it  is  different.  The  money  saved  is  hoarded  for  a 
time,  and,  when  brought  out  for  investment,  it 
wants  something  safe  and  reasonable,  —  something 
that  is  tangible  and  represents  real  progress.  Paper 
fortunes  cease  to  be  satisfactory." 

"  I  never  associated  panics  with  progress  before," 
remarked  Leonard,  with  a  puzzled  smile,  "  but  I 
see  the  truth  of  your  contention.  The  money  goes 
to  the  stock  market  in  flush  times." 

"  It  sounds  a  little  better  to  say,"  returned  Dodd, 
"  that  most  of  it  goes  into  speculation  instead  of 
investments.  Then  comes  the  panic,  as  a  natural 
result,  and  for  a  time  afterward  money  goes  into 
investments  instead  of  speculation.  Investment 
means  progress;  speculation  means  retrogression. 
We  forget  this  for  a  time  in  the  excitement  of 
pleasurable  dreams,  but  always  find  it  out  when 
we  wake  up." 

"  Then,"  said  Leonard,  "  if  we  had  no  panics, 
we  would  have  no  real  progress." 


294  Delightful  Dodd 

"  That  is  rather  a  crude  way  of  putting  it,"  re- 
turned Dodd.  "  Why  not  say  that,  if  we  would 
only  be  satisfied  with  real  progress,  we  would  have 
no  panics  ?  That  i-s  the  truth.  Panics  are  the  direct 
result  of  the  avariciousness  of  man,  —  not  of  the 
individual  man  but  of  the  collective  man.  I  expect 
to  see  the  trolley  road  up  here  pretty  soon  now." 

"  Why  do  you  say  that  ?  " 

"  Too  many  people  are  making  too  much  money 
—  on  paper,  and  after  a  little  they'll  find  that  the 
paper  can  be  sold  only  at  pound  rates  to  the  rag- 
man. So  I  am  giving  you  the  very  best  advice  of 
a  pretty  long  life  of  reasonable  activity  when  I  say, 
'  Invest,  but  don't  speculate.' ' 

Leonard  could  not  repress  a  humourous  impulse 
to  ask  under  which  head  marriage  came. 

"Both,"  replied  Dodd,  promptly.  "The  elope- 
ment of  a  couple  of  half-baked  youngsters,  after 
a  ten-days'  summer-resort  flirtation  is  a  speculation ; 
the  marriage  of  two  people  with  the  sense  to  look 
soberly  into  the  future  is  an  investment.  As  an 
investment  marriage  pays  in  happiness  and  content 
at  a  really  fabulous  per  cent. ;  as  a  speculation  it 
may  pay  in  anything,  but  it  pays  in  misery  more 
frequently  than  in  anything  else." 

"  Dan'l,"  said  Mrs.  Dodd,  "  you're  preaching." 


Dodd's  Parting  Dissertation        295 

Dodd  looked  startled.  Then,  in  his  whimsical 
way :  "  Here  endeth  the  first  lesson." 

As  the  carriage  went  down  the  drive,  he  called 
after  it :  "  I've  held  you  so  long  that  you'll  have 
to  hurry  to  catch  the  boat.  For  my  own  pleasure, 
I  hope  you  miss  it  and  have  to  come  back." 

Dodd  could  certainly  say  a  clever  thing  in  an 
unusual  way. 


THE   END. 


L.  C.  Page  and  Company's 
Announcement  List 
of  New  Fiction 

The   Bright  Face  of   Danger.    By  Robert 

Neilson  Stephens,  author  of  "  Philip  Winwood,"  "  A  Gentle- 
man Player,"  "  The  Mystery  of  Murray  Davenport,"  etc. 
Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative  .  .  .  .  $1.50 
Stephens's  most  stirring  story  tells  of  the  adventures  of 
Henri  de  Launay,  son  of  De  Launay  de  la  Tournoire,  made 
famous  in  "  An  Enemy  to  the  King."  Mr.  Stephens  has  done 
what  Dumas  did  in  "  Twenty  Years  After,"  except  that, 
unlike  the  great  French  novelist,  he  has  written  his  best 
story  last.  Writing,  as  only  he  among  modern  romancers  can 
write,  of  fair  women  and  brave  men,  the  gay  life  of  the 
chateaux  and  the  dangers  of  the  road,  hairbreadth  escapes, 
thrilling  rescues  and  gallant  combat,  Mr.  Stephens  has 
accomplished,  without  question,  his  masterpiece  of  romantic 
fiction. 

"  Mr.  Stephens  has  fairly  outdone  himself.  We  thank  him 
heartily.  The  story  is  nothing  if  not  spirited  and  entertaining, 
rational  and  convincing.  If  there  were  more  stories  like  it,  the 
historical  novel  would  be  in  no  danger  of  falling  into  disrepute."  — 
Boston  Transcript. 

"  Mr.  Stephens  has  a  liberal  share  of  the  intangible  verve  and 
charm  of  Dumas,  and  he  is  at  his  best  in  'The  Bright  Face  of 
Danger.'  It  is  a  gay,  dashing,  youthful  tale  of  dangers  dire  and 
escapes  gallantly  won.  The  situations  are  combined  in  fresh  and 
captivating  style.  Things  are  kept  moving  swiftly,  and  the  denoue- 
ment is  effective."  —  Chicago-Record  Herald, 


L.    C.  PAGE  AND    COMPANY'S 


The  Prisoner  of  Mademoiselle.    By  charies 

G.   D.   Roberts,  author  of   «  The   Kindred   of   the  Wild," 
"  Barbara  Ladd,"  "  The  Heart  of  the  Ancient  Wood." 
Library  I2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  with  a  frontispiece  by 
Frank  T.  Merrill  .         ...         .         .         .         $1.50 

In  this  charming  tale  Mr.  Roberts  has  come  back  to  the 
field  of  his  first  novels,  —  the  land  of  Acadia.  He  tells  a  story 
which,  although  by  no  means  a  nature  story,  still  has  plenty  of 
those  vibrant  nature-notes  which  have  endeared  his  "  Barbara 
Ladd "  to  its  readers.  Add  to  that  scenes  of  tenseness 
and  thrill  which  surpass  those  in  "  The  Forge  in  the  Forest," 
and  one  can  see  that  here  is  a  romance  worth  the  name. 

The  Watchers  of  the  Trails.    By  charies  G. 

D.  Roberts,  author  of  "  Barbara  Ladd,"  "  The  Kindred  of 

the  Wild,"  etc.     With  illustrations   by  Charles  Livingston 

Bull. 

Square  i2mo,  decorative  cover      ....         $2.00 

This  is  a  companion  volume  to  "  The  Kindred  of  the  Wild," 
and  is  another  collection  of  Professor  Roberts's  characteristic 
stories  of  nature  and  animal  life,  which  stand  alone  in  the 
world  of  fiction  as  absolutely  sincere  and  truthful  descriptions 
of  existence  in  the  untamed  wilderness.  They  carry  one  far 
from  the  haunts  of  convention  into  the  very  depths  of  primeval 
forces,  and  present  the  savage  instincts  of  the  beasts  of  the 
forests  and  the  elemental  problems  of  living  which  attend 
those  who  live  near  to  nature. 

The  book  is  sure  to  meet  the  favor  accorded  its  predecessor 
and  companion,  of  which  a  few  of  the  criticisms  are : 

"  Professor  Roberts  has  caught  wonderfully  the  elusive  individu- 
alities of  which  he  writes.  His  animal  stories  are  marvels  of 
sympathetic  science  and  literary  exactness.  Bound  with  the  superb 
illustrations  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull,  they  make  a  volume  which 
charms,  entertains,  and  informs."  —  New  York  World. 

"  Is  in  many  ways  the  most  brilliant  collection  of  animal  stories 
that  has  appeared.  Well  named  and  well  done."  —  John  Burroughs. 

"  No  more  perfect  achievement  of  its  kind  has  come  from  the  hand 
of  man."  —  Chicago  Tribune. 

"  Incomparably  the  best  in  literature  that  has  grown  up  about 
animals."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 


LIST  OF  NEW  FICTION 


At  Home  with  the  Jardines.    By  Lilian  Beii, 

author  of  "  Abroad  with  the  Jimmies,"  "  Hope  Loring,"  etc. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated     .         .         $1.50 

Here  we  have  the  heroine  of  "  Abroad  with  the  Jimmies  " 
(a  book  already  established  in  the  minds  of  readers  as  one  of 
the  author's  best)  back  to  America,  married,  and  trying  to 
settle  down.  This  book  relates  her  experiences  as  a  honey- 
mooner,  a  flat-dweller,  a  housekeeper,  and  a  hostess.  Among 
her  guests  —  as  well  as  counsellors  and  friends —  are  her  (and 
the  reader's)  old  friends,  the  Jimmies,  and  her  vivacious  sister, 
Bee.  These  and  a  score  of  others  —  of  whom  the  most  promi- 
nent are  Mary  Jane,  a  new  type  of  domestic,  and  "  The 
Angel "  —  make  up  a  pleasing  group  of  folk  with  whom  to 
pass  a  genial  hour  or  so. 

Of  "  Abroad  with  the  Jimmies,"  the  following  are  but  a  few 
of  a  great  many  favorable  opinions  : 

"  A  deliciously  fresh,  graphic  book.  The  writer  is  so  original  and 
unspoiled  that  her  point  of  view  has  value."  —  Mary  ffartwtll 
Catherwood. 

"  Full  of  ozone,  of  snap,  of  ginger,  of  swing  and  momentum."  — 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"...  Is  one  of  her  best  and  cleverest  novels  .  .  .  filled  to  the 
brim  with  amusing  incidents  and  experiences.  This  vivacious  nar- 
rative needs  no  commendation  to  the  readers  of  Miss  Bell's  well- 
known  earlier  books.  They  will  all  read  it,  and  they. will  enjoy  it, 
and  that  is  one  of  the  safest  prophecies  we  have  made  for  some 
time."  —  N.  Y.  Press. 

The   Sign   Of  Triumph.     A  Romance  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Crusade.     By  Sheppard  Stevens,  author  of  "  I  Am 
the  King."     Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative      ....         $1.50 

This  is  a  romantic  story,  dealing  with  the  incidents  of  the 
Children's  Crusade,  and  depicts  the  pathetic  experiences  of 
that  army  of  infant  martyrs  to  the  cause  of  religion.  Inter- 
woven with  this  account  is  a  delightful  romance. 

"  The  author  has  utilized  to  unusual  effect  the  picturesqueness  and 
fanaticism  of  the  Crusading  children  in  a  story  filled  with  eager 
charm  and  stamped  with  stern  truth."  —  Boston  Transcript. 


L.    C.   PAGE   AND    COMPANY'S 


The  Green  Diamond.    By  Arthur  Morrison,  au 

thor  of  "  The  Red  Triangle,"  etc. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative,  with  six  illustrations     $1.50 

"  The  Red  Triangle  "  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  popular 
of  the  year's  fiction.  "  Better  than  '  Sherlock  Holmes,'  " 
"  Not  to  be  laid  down  till  the  last  word  has  been  reached," 
«  A  first-class  story  of  crime  and  mystery,"  are  a  few  of  the 
observations  made  upon  it.  This  new  story  promises  to  be 
of  equal  popularity. 

It  deals  with  the  adventures  of  a  famous  diamond,  "  The 
Green  Eye  of  Goona,"  mysteriously  stolen  from  an  Indian 
rajah,  and  supposedly  concealed  in  one  of  a  dozen  magnums 
of  Tokay  wine.  An  enterprising  young  Englishman,  Harvey 
Crook,  is  the  principal  seeker  for  the  diamond,  and  proves 
himself  a  worthy  disciple  of  Martin  Hewitt  and  Sherlock 
Holmes. 

Hemming,   the   Adventurer.    By  Theodore 

Roberts.     With  six  illustrations  by  A.  G.  Learned. 
Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative  .  $1.50 

The  hero  of  this  romance  is  a  typical  Englishman,  straight- 
forward and  manly,  with  all  the  charm  and  fascination  of 
the  cultivated  man  of  the  world.  His  adventures  are  well 
worth  recording,  and  introduce  many  phases  of  life  and  many 
types  of  people.  The  atmosphere  of  the  book  is  that  of  real 
life,  —  of  things  perfectly  familiar  to  the  author,  of  incidents 
personally  known  and  related  in  the  spirit  of  remembrance. 

The  Hound  from  the  North.    By  mdgweii 

Cullom,  author  of  "  The  Story  of  the  Foss  River  Ranch." 
Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative  .         .         '.         $1.50 

This  is  a  story  of  adventure  and  mystery,  starting  in  the 
famous  Klondike  region,  then  shifting  to  the  "  great  north- 
west" of  Canada.  Gold  escorts,  government  detectives, 
ranchmen,  and  smugglers  all  play  their  part,  centring  around 
"The  Hound  from  the  North,"  an  original  and  thrilling,  if 
sinister,  sketch  of  animal  life.  The  heroine  is  sincere  and 
womanly,  and  the  hero  a  relief  to  those  surfeited  with  the 
ordinary  "  leading  man  "  of  fiction. 


LIST  OF  NEW  FICTION' 


An  Evans  Of  Suffolk.      By  Anna  Farquhar,  author 
of  "  Her  Boston  Experiences,"  "  Her  Washington  Experi- 
ences," etc. 
Library  1  2mo,  cloth  decorative      ....         $1.50 

This  is  a  powerful  story  of  modern  life.  The  principal 
character  is  a  young  woman  who  marries  into  a  conservative 
Boston  family  without  explaining  her  antecedents,  and  is 
obliged  to  exercise  all  her  woman's  ingenuity  to  keep  un- 
known the  existence  of  her  father,  who  is  the  "  black  sheep  " 
of  a  distinguished  English  family.  She  gradually  becomes 
involved  in  deception,  which  grows  more  and  more  difficult  to 
maintain,  and  which  threatens  to  finally  overwhelm  her.  The 
plot  is  strong,  and  the  telling  is  brilliant,  while  the  book  has 
much  of  the  author's  gift  of  social  satire,  which  was  so  cleverly 
displayed  in  "  Her  Boston  Experiences." 

The   Motor   Pirate.     By  G.  Sidney  Paternoster. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative,  with  frontispiece  $1.50 

Mr.  Paternoster,  in  his  new  book,  "  The  Motor  Pirate,"  has 
quite  outdistanced  all  competitors.  The  story  is  a  rattling 
good  one.  Told  by  a  man  who  is  a  rich  landowner  and 
motor  enthusiast,  it  rushes  from  incident  to  incident  in  an 
almost  breathless  fashion.  There  is  a  strong  love  interest  in 
the  book,  and  all  the  characters  are  well  drawn.  Turpin,  in 
truth,  has  been  out-Turpined  by  Mr.  Paternoster,  who  must 
be  congratulated  on  a  most  successful  work  of  fiction. 

The  Second   Mrs.   Jim.     By  Stephen  Conrad. 
With  a  frontispiece  by  Ernest  Fosbery. 
Large  i6mo,  cloth  decorative       ....        $1.00 

Here  is  a  character  as  original  and  witty  as  "  Mr.  Dooley  " 
or  the  "  self-made  merchant."  The  realm  of  humorous  fiction 
is  now  invaded  by  the  stepmother. 

A  shrewd,  middle-aged  spinster  marries  a  prosperous  farmer 
with  two  boys,  and  makes  them  a  model  wife  and  mother.  A 
clever  climax  is  attained  when  she  pulls  the  oldest  boy  out  of 
love  with  the  wrong  girl  and  into  love  with  the  right  one. 
Much  quaint  philosophy  is  mingled  with  extremely  humorous 
sayings  in  dialect.  The  book  will  be  read  with  many  inward 
chuckles  and  outward  laughs  of  appreciation. 


L.    C.   PAGE  AND    COMPANY 


AzalitTl  :  A  ROMANCE  OF  OLD  JUDEA.    By  Mark  Ashton, 
author  of  "  She  Stands  Alone."      Illustrated  with  a  colored 
frontispiece  and  eight  reproductions  from  rare  old  plates. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative      .         .         .         .         $1.50 

This  is  the  second  of  the  author's  series  of  novels  founded 
on  Biblical  history,  and  has  Judea  for  its  background,  the 
infamous  Jezebel  for  its  central  figure,  and  her  intrigues  and 
ambitions  for  its  motif.  It  is  full  of  interesting  and  exciting 
incidents  with  vivid  descriptions  of  the  life  of  the  times. 

"  The  story  is  clear-cut  and  straightforward,  and  we  feel  we  are 
breathing  the  atmosphere  of  the  period.  It  is  brilliant  with  descrip- 
tions, has  a  wealth  of  interesting  incidents,  unique  situations,  and 
swift  action."  —  Boston  Herald. 

Delightful  Dodd.     By  Elliott  Flower,  author  of  «  The 
Spoilsmen,"  etc. 
Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated     .         .         $1.50 

From  the  strenuous  whirl  of  politics  to  the  calm  of  the  back- 
woods is  indeed  a  far  cry  ;  but  Mr.  Flower  has  shown  himself 
as  clever  in  depicting  country  life  in  the  State  of  Michigan 
as  in  his  trenchant  portrayal  of  the  doings  of  the  Chicago 
wards.  His  principal  character,  a  shrewd  old  fellow  of  much 
wit  and  ingenuity,  is  declared  by  those  who  have  read  the 
manuscript  of  the  story,  to  "give  David  Harum  cards  and 
spades." 

Rachel   Marr.      By  Morley  Roberts,  author  of  «  The 
Promotion  of  the  Admiral,"  etc. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative      .         .         .         .         $1.50 

In  this  novel  Mr.  Roberts  has  left  the  humors  and  tragedies 
of  the  sea  for  a  new  field.  "  Rachel  Marr  "  is  a  romance  full 
of  that  atmosphere  and  spirit  which  have  made  Thomas  Hardy 
famous.  The  book  has  met  with  not  only  popular  success  in 
England,  where  it  has  gone  to  a  tenth  impression,  but  with 
artistic  success.  The  Daily  Telegraph,  London's  most  con- 
servative literary  sheet,  says  that  "  This  novel  is  one  of  the 
most  significant  productions  of  the  times  ;  it  is  finely 
conceived." 


Selections  from 

L.  C.  Page  and  Company's 

List  of  Fiction 

WORKS  OF 

ROBERT  NEILSON  STEPHENS 
Captain     Ravenshaw ;     OR,   THE   MAID   OF 

CHEAPSIDE.     (4oth  thousand.)    A  romance  of  Elizabethan 
London.     Illustrations  by  Howard  Pyle  and  other  artists. 
Library  lamo,  cloth  .         .         .         .        .         .     $1.50 

Not  since  the  absorbing  adventures  of  D'Artagnan  have  we 
had  anything  so  good  in  the  blended  vein  of  romance  and 
comedy.  The  beggar  student,  the  rich  goldsmith,  the  roisterer 
and  the  rake,  the  fop  and  the  maid,  are  all  here :  foremost 
among  them  Captain  Ravenshaw  himself,  soldier  of  fortune 
and  adventurer,  who,  after  escapades  of  binding  interest, 
finally  wins  a  way  to  fame  and  to  matrimony. 

Philip  WinWOOd.  (70th  thousand.)  A  Sketch  of 
the  Domestic  History  of  an  American  Captain  in  the  War  of 
Independence,  embracing  events  that  occurred  between  and 
during  the  years  1763  and  1785  in  New  York  and  London. 
Written  by  his  Enemy  in  War,  Herbert  Russell,  Lieutenant 
in  the  Loyalist  Forces.  Presented  anew  by  ROBERT  NEIL- 
SON  STEPHENS.  Illustrated  by  E.  W.  D  Hamilton. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  .  .  .  .  .  .  $1.50 

"  One  of  the  most  stirring  and  remarkable  romances  that  have 
been  published  in  a  long  while,  and  its  episodes,  incidents,  and 
actions  are  as  interesting  and  agreeable  as  they  are  vivid  and 
dramatic."  —  Boston  Times. 

The  Mystery  of  Murray  Davenport.    (30* 

thousand.)     By  ROBERT    NEILSON    STEPHENS,   author  of 
"  An  Enemy  to  the  King,"  "  Philip  Winwood,"  etc. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth,  with  six  full-page  illustrations  by  H.,  C. 
Edwards       .         .         .  .         .         .         .         $1.50 

"This  is  easily  the  best  thing  that  Mr.  Stephens  has  yet  done. 
Those  familiar  with  his  other  novels  can  best  judge  the  measure  of 
this  praise,  which  is  generous."  —  Buffalo  News. 

"  Mr.  Stephens  won  a  host  of  friends  through  his  earlier  volumes, 
but  we  think  he  will  do  still  better  work  in  his  new  field  if  the 
present  volume  is  a  criterion."  —  JV.  Y.  Com.  Advertiser. 


L.   C.  PAGE  AND   COMPANY'S 


An  Enemy  to  the  King.   (6oth  thousand.)  From 

the  "  Recently    Discovered    Memoirs   of   the   Sieur   de   la 

Tournoire."     Illustrated  by  H.  De  M.  Young. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth       ......         $1.50 

An  historical  romance  of  the  sixteenth  century,  describing 
the  adventures  of  a  young  French  nobleman  at  the  Court  of 
Henry  III.,  and  on  the  field  with  Henry  of  Navarre. 

"  A  stirring  tale."  —  Detroit  Free  Press. 

"  A  royally  strong  piece  of  fiction."  —  Boston  Ideas. 

"  Interesting  from  the  first  to  the  last  page."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  Brilliant  as  a  play  ;  it  is  equally  brilliant  as  a  romantic  novel."  — 
Philadelphia  Press. 

The  Continental  Dragoon  :   A  ROMANCE  OF 

PHILIPSE  MANOR  HOUSE  IN  1778.    (43d  thousand.)   Illus- 

trated by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  1  2mo,  cloth  ......     $1.50 

A  stirring  romance  of  the  Revolution,  the  scene  being  laid 
in  and  around  the  old  Philipse  Manor  House,  near  Yonkers, 
which  at  the  time  of  the  story  was  the  central  point  of  the  so- 
called  "  neutral  territory  "  between  the  two  armies. 

The  Road  to   Paris:     A  STORY  OF  ADVENTURE. 
(25th  thousand.)  Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  .....         .     $1.50 

An  historical  romance  of  the  i8th  century,  being  an  account 

of  the  life  of  an  American  gentleman  adventurer  of  Jacobite 

ancestry,  whose  family  early  settled  in  the  colony  of  Pennsyl- 

vania. 

A  Gentleman  Player  :  HIS  ADVENTURES  ON  A 

SECRET  MISSION  FOR  QUEEN   ELIZABETH.     (s8th  thou- 

sand.)    Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth          ......    $1-50 

"A  Gentleman  Player  "is  a  romance  of  the  Elizabethan 
period.  It  relates  the  story  of  a  young  gentleman  who,  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  falls  so  low  in  his  fortune  that  he  joins 
Shakespeare's  company  of  players,  and  becomes  a  friend  and 
prote'ge'  of  the  great  poet. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


WORKS  OF 

CHARLES  G.  D.  ROBERTS 

Barbara  Ladd.  With  four  illustrations  by  Frank 
Verbeck. 

Library  1 2mo,  gilt  top $1.50 

"  From  the  opening  chapter  to  the  final  page  Mr.  Roberts  lures 

us  on  by  his  rapt  devotion  to  the  changing  aspects  of  Nature  and 

by  his  keen  and  sympathetic  analysis  of  human  character."  —  Boston 

Transcript. 

The  Kindred  of  the  Wild.   A  BOOK  OF  ANIMAL 

LIFE.     With  fifty-one  full-page  plates  and  many  decorations 

from  drawings  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Small  quarto,  decorative  cover .         .         .         .         .     $2.00 

"Professor  Roberts  has  caught  wonderfully  the  elusive  individu- 
alities of  which  he  writes.  His  animal  stories  are  marvels  of  sym- 
pathetic science  and  literary  exactness.  Bound  with  the  superb 
illustrations  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull,  they  make  a  volume  which 
charms,  entertains,  and  informs."  —  New  York  World. 

"...  Is  in  many  ways  the  most  brilliant  collection  of  animal 
stories  that  has  appeared  .  .  .  well  named  and  well  done."  — John 
Burroughs. 

The  Forge  in  the  Forest.  Being  the  Narrative  of 
the  Acadian  Ranger,  Jean  de  Mer,  Seigneur  de  Briart,  and 
how  he  crossed  the  Black  Abbe",  and  of  his  Adventures  in  a 
Strange  Fellowship.  Illustrated  by  Henry  Sandham,  R.  C.  A. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top $1.50 

A  romance  of  the  convulsive  period  of  the  struggle  between 
the  French  and  English  for  the  possession  of  North  Amer- 
ica. The  story  is  one  of  pure  love  and  heroic  adventure,  and 
deals  with  that  fiery  fringe  of  conflict  that  waved  between 
Nova  Scotia  and  New  England.  The  Expulsion  of  the  Aca- 
dians  is  foreshadowed  in  these  brilliant  pages,  and  the  part  of 
the  "  Black  Abbe"'s  "  intrigues  in  precipitating  that  catastrophe 
is  shown. 


L.  C.   PAGE  AND    COMPANY'S 


The  Heart  of  the  Ancient  Wood,    with 

six  illustrations  by  James  L.  Weston. 

Library  12  mo,  decorative  cover     .         .         .        .         $1.50 

"  One  of  the  most  fascinating  novels  of  recent  days."  —  Boston 
Journal. 

"  A  classic  twentieth-century  romance."  —  New  York  Commercial 
Advertiser. 

A  Sister  to  Evangeline.    Being  the  story  of 

Yvonne  de  Lamourie,  and  how  she  went  into  Exile  with  the 

Villagers  of  Grand  Pre". 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  illustrated         .         .         $1.50 

This  is  a  romance  of  the  great  expulsion  of  the  Acadians, 
which  Longfellow  first  immortalized  in  "  Evangeline."  Swift 
action,  fresh  atmosphere,  wholesome  purity,  deep  passion, 
searching  analysis,  characterize  this  strong  novel. 

By  the  Marshes  of  Minas. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  illustrated  .  .  $1-5° 
This  is  a  volume  of  romance,  of  love  and  adventure  in  that 
picturesque  period  when  Nova  Scotia  was  passing  from  the 
French  to  the  English  regime.  Each  tale  is  independent  of 
the  others,  but  the  scenes  are  similar,  and  in  several  of  them  the 
evil  "  Black  Abbd,"  well  known  from  the  author's  previous 
novels,  again  appears  with  his  savages  at  his  heels  —  but  to 
be  thwarted  always  by  woman's  wit  or  soldier's  courage. 

Earth's  Enigmas.  A  new  edition,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  three  new  stories,  and  ten  illustrations  by  Charles 
Livingston  Bull. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  uncut  edges  .  .  .  .  $1.50 
"Throughout  the  volume  runs  that  subtk  questioning  of  the 
cruel,  predatory  side  of  nature  which  suggests  the  general  title  of 
the  book.  In  certain  cases  it  is  the  picture  of  savage  nature  raven- 
ing for  food  —  for  death  to  preserve  life  ;  in  others  it  is  the  secret 
symbolism  of  woods  and  waters  prophesying  of  evils  and  misadven- 
tures to  come.  All  this  does  not  mean,  however,  that  Mr.  Roberts 
is  either  pessimistic  or  morbid  —  it  is  nature  in  his  books  after  all, 
wholesome  in  her  cruel  moods  as  in  her  tender."  —  The  New  York 
Independent. 


LIST  OF  FICTION" 


WORKS  OF 

LILIAN  BELL 

Hope    Loring.     Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  12010,  cloth,  decorative  cover   .         .         .         $1.50 

"  Lilian  Bell's  new  novel,  '  Hope  Loring,'  does  for  the  American 
girl  in  fiction  what  Gibson  has  done  for  her  in  art. 

"  Tall,  slender,  and  athletic,  fragile-looking,  yet  with  nerves  and 
sinews  of  steel  under  the  velvet  flesh,  frank  as  a  boy  and  tender  and 
beautiful  as  a  woman,  free  and  independent,  yet  not  bold  —  such  is 
'  Hope  Loring,'  by  long  odds  the  subtlest  study  that  has  yet  been 
made  of  the  American  girl."  —  Dorothy  Dix,  in  the  New  York 
American. 

Abroad  with  the  Jimmies,   with  a  portrait,  in 

duogravure,  of  the  author. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover   .         .         .         $1.50 

"  A  deliciously  fresh,  graphic  book.  The  writer  is  so  original  and 
unspoiled  that  her  point  of  view  has  value."  —  Mary  Hartwell 
Catherwood. 

"  Full  of  ozone,  of  snap,  of  ginger,  of  swing  and  momentum."  — 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"...  Is  one  of  her  best  and  cleverest  novels  .  .  .  filled  to  the 
brim  with  amusing  incidents  and  experiences.  This  vivacious  narra- 
tive needs  no  commendation  to  the  readers  of  Miss  Bell's  well-known 
earlier  books."  —  N.  Y.  Press. 

The  Interference  of  Patricia,    with  a  frontis- 
piece from  drawing  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 
Small  1 2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover       .         .         .         $1.00 

"There  is  life  and  action  and  brilliancy  and  dash  and  cleverness 
and  a  keen  appreciation  of  business  ways  in  this  story."  —  Grand 
Rapids  Herald. 

"  A  story  full  of  keen  and  flashing  satire."  —  Chicago  Record- 
Herald. 

A   Book  Of   Girls.     With  a  frontispiece. 

Small  I2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover      .         .         .         $1.00 

"  The  stories  are  all  eventful  and  have  effective  humor."  —  New 
York  Sun. 

"  Lilian  Bell  surely  understands  girls,  for  she  depicts  all  the  varia- 
tions of  girl  nature  so  charmingly." —  Chicago  Journal. 

The  above  two  volumes  boxed  in  special  holiday  dress,  per  set,  $2  jo. 


L.   C.'PAGE   AND   COMPANY'S 


The  Red  Triangle.    Being  some  further  chronicles  of 
Martin  Hewitt,  investigator.   By  ARTHUR  MORRISON,  author 
of  "  The  Hole  in  the  Wall,"  "  Tales  of  Mean  Streets,"  etc. 
Library  i  amo,  cloth  decorative      .         .         .         .         $1.50 
This  is  a  genuine,  straightforward  detective  story  of  the 
kind  that  keeps  the  reader  on  the  gut  vive.      Martin  Hewitt, 
investigator,  might  well  have  studied  his  methods  from  Sher- 
lock Holmes,  so  searching  and  successful  are  they. 
"  Better  than  Sherlock  Holmes."  —  New  York  Tribune. 
"  The  reader  who  has  a  grain  of  fancy  or  imagination  may  be 
defied  to  lay  this  book  down,  once  he  has  begun  it,  until  the  last 
word  has  been  reached."  —  Philadelphia  North  American. 

"  If  you  like  a  good  detective  story  you  will  enjoy  this."  —  Brook- 
lyn Eagle. 

"  We  have  found  '  The  Red  Triangle '  a  book  of  absorbing  inter- 
est." —  Rochester  Herald. 

"  Will  be  eagerly  read  by  every  one  who  likes  a  tale  of  mystery." 

—  The  Scotsman,  England. 

Prince  Hagen.    By  UPTON  SINCLAIR,  author  of  "  King 

Midas,"  etc. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative     .         .         .         .         $1.50 

In  this  book  Mr.  Sinclair  has  written  a  satire  of  the  first 
order  —  one  worthy  to  be  compared  with  Swift's  biting  tirades 
against  the  follies  and  abuses  of  mankind. 

"  A  telling  satire  on  politics  and  society  in  modern  New  York." 

—  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

"The  book  has  a  living  vitality  and  is  a  strong  depiction  of 
political  New  York."  —  Bookseller,  Newsdealer,  and  Stationer. 

The  Silent  Maid.     By  FREDERIC  W.  PANGBORN. 

Large  i6mo,  cloth  decorative,  with  a  frontispiece  by  Frank 

T.  Merrill      . $1.00 

A  dainty  and  delicate  legend  of  the  brave  days  of  old,  of 
sprites  and  pixies,  of  trolls  and  gnomes,  of  ruthless  barons  and 
noble  knights.  "  The  Silent  Maid  "  herself,  with  her  strange 
bewitchment  and  wondrous  song,  is  equalled  only  by  Undine 
in  charm  and  mystery. 

"  Seldom  does  one  find  a  short  tale  so  idyllic  in  tone  and  so  fanci- 
ful in  motive.  The  book  shows  great  delicacy  of  imagination."  — 
The  Criterion. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


The    Spoilsmen.     By  ELLIOTT   FLOWER,  author  of 

"  Policeman  Flynn,"  etc. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth $1-50 

"The  best  one  may  hear  of  'The  Spoilsmen'  will  be  none  too 
good.  As  a  wide-awake,  snappy,  brilliant  political  story  it  has  few 
equals,  its  title-page  being  stamped  with  that  elusive  mark,  '  success.' 
One  should  not  miss  a  word  of  a  book  like  this  at  a  time  like  this 
and  in  a  world  of  politics  like  this."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

"  Elliott  Flower,  whose  '  Policeman  Flynn '  attested  his  acquaint- 
ance with  certain  characteristic  aspects  of  the  American  city,  has 
written  a  novel  of  municipal  politics,  which  should  interest  many 
readers.  .  .  .  The  characters  are  obviously  suggested  by  certain 
actual  figures  in  local  politics,  and  while  the  conditions  he  depicts 
are  general  in  large  cities  in  the  United  States,  they  will  be  unusually 
familiar  to  local  readers.  .  .  .  Ned  Bell,  the  *  Old  Man,'  or  political 
boss ;  Billy  Ryan,  his  lieutenant ;  •  Rainbow  John,'  the  alderman, 
are  likely  to  be  identified.  .  .  .  and  other  personages  of  the  story 
are  traceable  to  their  prototypes."  —  Chicago  Evening  Pott. 

Stephen   Holton.      By  CHARLES   FELTON  PIDGINJ, 
author  of  "Quincy  Adams  Sawyer,"  «« Blennerhassett,"  etc. 
The   frontispiece  is  a  portrait  of  the  hero  by  Frank  T. 
Merrill. 
One  vol.,  library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top    .        .        .        $1.50 

"  In  the  delineation  of  rural  life,  the  author  shows  that  intimate 
sympathy  which  distinguished  his  first  success,  '  Quincy  Adams 
Sawyer.' "  —  Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

" '  Stephen  Holton '  stands  as  his  best  achievement."  —  Detroit 
Free  Press. 

"  New  England's  common  Me  seems  a  favorite  material  for  this 
sterling  author,  who  in  this  particular  instance  mixes  his  colors  with 
masterly  skill."  —  Boston  Globe. 

ASS.  Holm 65;    OR,  AT  THE  CROSS-ROADS.     A  Sketch 
of  Country  Life  and  Country  Humor.    By  ANNIE  FELLOWS 
JOHNSTON.     With  a  frontispiece  by  Ernest  Fosbery. 
Large  i6mo,  cloth,  gilt  top $1.00 

" '  Asa  Holmes ;  or,  At  the  Cross- Roads '  is  the  most  delightful, 
most  sympathetic  and  wholesome  book  that  has  been  published  in  a 
long  while.  The  lovable,  cheerful,  touching  incidents,  the  descrip- 
tions of  persons  and  things  are  wonderfully  true  to  nature."  — 
Boston  Times. 


8  L.    C.   PAGE   AND    COMPANY'S 

A    Daughter   Of   THeSpis.     By  JOHN  D.  BARRY, 
author  of  "  The  Intriguers,"  "  Mademoiselle  Blanche,"  etc. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative      ....         $1.50 

"  I  should  say  that  '  A  Daughter  of  Thespis  '  seemed  so  honest 
about  actors  and  acting  that  it  made  you  feel  as  if  the  stage  had 
never  been  truly  written  about  before."  —  W.  D.  Howells,  in 
Harper's  Weekly. 

"  This  story  of  the  experiences  of  Evelyn  Johnson,  actress,  may 
be  praised  just  because  it  is  so  true  and  so  wholly  free  from  melo- 
drama and  the  claptrap  which  we  have  come  to  think  inseparable 
from  any  narrative  which  has  to  do  with  theatrical  experiences."  — 
Professor  Harry  Thurston  Peck,  of  Columbia  University. 

"  Certainly  written  from  a  close  and  shrewd  observation  of  stage 
life."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

The  Golden    Dog:    A  ROMANCE  OF  QUEBEC.     By 
WILLIAM  KIRBY.    New  authorized  edition,  printed  from  new 
plates.     Illustrated  by  J.  W   Kennedy. 
One  vol.,  library  I2mo,  cloth          ...         .         .         $1.25 

"A  powerful  romance  of  love,  intrigue,  and  adventure  in  the 
times  of  Louis  XV.  and  Madame  de  Pompadour,  when  the  French 
colonies  were  making  their  great  struggle  to  retain  for  an  ungrateful 
court  the  fairest  jewels  in  the  colonial  diadem  of  France.  It  is  a 
most  masterly  picture  of  the  cruelties  and  the  jealousies  of  a  maiden, 
Angelique  des  Melloises  —  fair  as  an  angel  and  murderous  as  Medea. 
Mr.  Kirby  has  shown  how  false  prides  and  ambitions  stalked  abroad 
at  this  time,  how  they  entered  the  heart  of  man  to  work  his  destruc- 
tion, and  particularly  how  they  influenced  a  beautiful  demon  in 
female  form  to  continued  vengeances."  —  Boston  Herald. 

The   Last   Word.      By  ALICE  MACGOWAN.      Illus- 
trated with  seven  portraits  of  the  heroine. 
Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top  .         .         .         .         $1.50 

"  When  one  receives  full  measure  to  overflowing  of  delight  in  a 
tender,  charming,  and  wholly  fascinating  new  piece  of  fiction,  the 
enthusiasm  is  apt  to  come  uppermost.  Miss  MacGowan  has  been 
known  before,  but  her  best  gift  has  here  declared  itself."  —  Louisville 
Post. 

"  The  story  begins  and  ends  in  Western  Texas.  Between  chapters, 
there  is  the  ostensible  autobiography  of  a  girl  who  makes  her  way 
in  New  York  journalism.  Out  of  it  all  conies  a  book,  vivid,  bright, 
original  —  one  of  a  kind  and  the  kind  most  welcome  to  readers  of 
the  hitherto  conventional."  —  New  York  World. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


The    Captain's    Wife.     By   W.   CLARK    RUSSELL, 
author  of  "  The  Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor."     With  a  frontis- 
piece by  C.  H.  Dunton. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative      .         .         .         .         $1.50 

"  Mr.  Russell's  descriptions  of  the  sea  are  vivid  and  full  of  color, 
and  he  brings  home  to  the  reader  the  feeling  that  he  is  looking 
upon  the  real  thing  drawn  by  one  who  has  seen  the  scenes  and 
writes  from  knowledge."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"Every  page  is  readable  and  exciting."  —  Baltimore  Herald. 

"  This  story  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the  best  of  his  excellent 
tales  of  the  sea."  —  Chicago  Post. 

"  There  are  suggestions  of  Marryat  in  it,  and  reminders  of  Charles 
Reade,  but  mostly  it  is  Clark  Russell,  with  his  delightful  descriptions 
and  irresistible  sea  yarns."  —  Phila.  North  American. 

The  Mate  of  the  Good  Ship  York.    By  w. 

CLARK  RUSSELL,  author  of  "  The  Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor," 

etc.     With  a  frontispiece  by  C.  H.  Dunton. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative      ....         $1.50 

"  One  of  the  breeziest,  most  absorbing  books  that  have  come  to 
our  table  is  W.  Clark  Russell's  'The  Mate  of  the  Good  Ship 
York.' "  —  Buffalo  Commercial. 

"  For  a  rousing,  absorbing,  and,  withal,  a  truthful  tale  of  the  sea, 
commend  me  to  W.  Clark  Russell.  His  novel,  '  The  Mate  of  the 
Good  Ship  York,'  is  one  of  the  best,  and  the  love  romance  that  runs 
through  it  will  be  appreciated  by  every  one."  —  Philadelphia  North 
American. 

"  Romantic  adventures,  hairbreadth  escapes,  and  astounding 
achievements  keep  things  spinning  at  a  lively  rate  and  hold  the 
reader's  attention  throughout  the  breezy  narrative." —  Toledo  Blade. 

The  Golden   Kingdom.     By  ANDREW  BALFOUR, 
author  of  "  Vengeance  Is  Mine,"  "  To  Arms  !  "  etc. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative      .         .         .         .         $1.50 
This  is  a  story  of  adventure  on  land  and  sea,  beginning  in 
England  and  ending  in  South  Africa,  in  the  last  days  of  the 
seventeenth  century.     The   scheme  of  the   tale  at  once  puts 
the  reader  in  mind  of  Stevenson's  "  Treasure  Island." 

"  Every  one  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  with  a  broad 
imaginative  faculty  will  want  to  read  this  tale."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

" '  The  Golden  Kingdom '  is  the  rarest  adventure  book  of  them 
all."  —  N.  Y.  World. 


10  L.    C.  PAGE   AND   COMPANY'S 

The  Schemers :  A  Tale  of  Modern  Life. 

By  EDWARD  F.  HARKINS,  author  of  "  Little  Pilgrimages 
Among  the  Men  Who  Have  Written  Famous  Books,"  etc. 
With  a  frontispiece  by  Ernest  Fosbery. 
Library  I2mo,  cloth       .         .         .         .         .         .         $1.50 

A  story  of  a  new  and  real  phase  of  social  life  in  Boston, 
skilfully  and  daringly  handled.  There  is  plenty  of  life  and 
color  abounding,  and  a  diversity  of  characters  —  shop-girls, 
society  belles,  men  about  town,  city  politicians,  and  others. 
The  various  schemers  and  their  schemes  will  be  followed  with 
interest,  and  there  will  be  some  discerning  readers  who  may 
claim  to  recognize  in  certain  points  of  the  story  certain  hap- 
penings in  the  shopping  and  the  society  circles  of  the  Hub. 

"  A  faithful  delineation  of  real  shop-girl  life."  —  Milwaukee 
Sentinel. 

"  This  comes  nearer  to  the  actual  life  of  a  modern  American  city, 
with  all  its  complexities,  than  any  other  work  of  American  fiction. 
The  book  shows  an  unusual  power  of  observation  and  a  still  more 
unusual  power  to  concentrate  and  interpret  what  is  observed." 
St.  Louis  Star. 

The    Promotion    of   The    Admiral.      By 

MORLEY  ROBERTS,  author  of  "  The  Colossus,"  "  The  Fugi- 
tives," "  Sons  of  Empire,"  etc. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated     .         .         $1.50 

This  volume  contains  half  a  dozen  stories  of  sea  life, — 

fresh,  racy,  and  bracing,  —  all  laid  in  America,  —  stories  full 

of  rollicking,  jolly,  sea-dog  humor,  tempered  to  the  keen  edge  of 

wit. 

"  If  any  one  writes  better  sea  stories  than  Mr.  Roberts,  we  don't 
know  who  it  is ;  and  if  there  is  a  better  sea  story  of  its  kind  than 
this  it  would  be  a  joy  to  have  the  pleasure  of  reading  it."  —  New 
York  Sun.  . 

"  To  read  these  stories  is  a  tonic  for  the  mind ;  the  stories  are 
gems,  and  for  pith  and  vigor  of  description  they  are  unequalled."  — 
New  York  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"There  is  a  hearty  laugh  in  every  one  of  these  stories." — The 
Reader. 

"  Mr.  Roberts  treats  the  life  of  the  sea  in  a  way  that  is  intensely 
real  and  intensely  human."  —  Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

"  The  author  knows  his  sea  men  from  A  to  Z."  —  Philadelphia 
North  American. 


